Past Community Health Network President and CEO Bryan Mills and his wife Cathie have made a generous gift to benefit Community Health Network MD Anderson Cancer Center patients in two meaningful ways.
“Cancer can upend every aspect of life; too often, a cancer diagnosis can rob patients of comfort emotionally, mentally and financially,” said Bryan Mills. “This is where clinical care and philanthropy can work in tandem to elevate the patient experience, providing the kind of holistic, compassionate support that each of us would want for a loved one faced with this disease. Cathie and I feel grateful for this opportunity to help and hope patients can soon benefit from this assistance.”
First, their gift will create the Bryan and Cathie Mills Endowment, which will establish a short-term housing program for patients of the Stem Cell Transplant and Cellular Therapy Institute. Community’s first stem cell transplant took place in October of 2024 at Community Howard Regional Health; this year, the program will begin offering services in a newly constructed building adjacent to Community’s cancer center on the north campus.
After an extensive qualifying process, patients undergoing stem cell, or bone marrow, transplant requires them to undertake a complex 90 to 100-day journey, including multi-week hospital stays. Many patients and their families who live at a significant distance from their treatment sites will require short-term housing. Even when distance is not a challenge, patients and their caregivers must reside in spaces that adhere to strict infection-prevention guidelines to make home or temporary lodgings safe for recovery.
“Safe, clean and close short-term housing is a critically important element for stem cell transplant patients,” said Marci Jones, Vice President of Oncology and Chief Nursing Executive for Community Health Network. “This generous gift lays a strong foundation for a comprehensive housing program that will support some of our most vulnerable, immunosuppressed patients. With this support, patients and their caregivers can devote their energy to the critical transplant journey, without the added stress of finding safe and reliable living arrangements.”
Secondly, the Mills’ gift will provide funding to support oncology patient assistance, helping to provide comfort and ease stressors for patients and their families.
In recognition for the Mills’ gift, in addition to Bryan’s four decades of service at Community and the couple’s generosity to the Foundation for 39 consecutive years, Community MD Anderson on Community’s North campus will be renamed “Community Health Network MD Anderson Cancer Center supported by Bryan and Cathie Mills.”
“Bryan and Cathie Mills are pillars of both the central Indiana community and of Community Health Network,” said Joyce Irwin, President and CEO of Community Health Network Foundation. “Their generosity of time, talent and treasure over the course of four decades has left a lasting mark on our non-profit health system. We are proud to steward their gift and maximize its impact for the benefit of people with cancer.”
*All donations benefit initiatives at Community Health Network MD Anderson Cancer Center in Indiana and do not fund research or programs at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston.
About Community Health Network
Headquartered in Indianapolis, Community Health Network has been deeply committed to the communities it serves since opening its first hospital, Community Hospital East, in 1956. Community Health Network puts patients first while offering a full continuum of healthcare services, world-class innovations and a new focus on population health management. Exceptional care, simply delivered, is what sets Community Health Network apart and what makes it a leading not-for-profit healthcare destination in central Indiana. For more information about Community Health Network, please visit eCommunity.com.
