Celebrating Partnership: Gila River Indian Community's legacy of support for Banner Children's
8/3/2026
When members of the Gila River Indian Community (GRIC) board visited Banner Children's at Desert in June, they were greeted with something special—a newly dedicated Book Nook bearing their community's name. The cozy reading space and free library for patients is located in the Banner Children's Blood & Cancer Center. The naming honors GRIC’s longstanding commitment to pediatric care in the East Valley totaling nearly $2 million in grants.
The Book Nook dedication honored GRIC's most recent grant of $395,051 in 2024, which funded the construction and furnishing of five physician offices and a meeting space within the Blood & Cancer Center. But this contribution represents just one chapter in a remarkable story of partnership spanning more than 15 years.
A space that transforms care
The physician offices funded by GRIC have become essential to the center's mission of providing integrated, patient-centered care. These private spaces—totaling 1,203 square feet—enable physicians to collaborate, ensuring pediatric patients receive the fastest, most efficient care possible while maintaining the privacy and security required for sensitive medical discussions.
"The proximity to patient care has been incredibly beneficial," shared Dr. Santosh Hanmod, a pediatric hematologist-oncologist. The offices support critical activities including medical consultations, diagnosis and staging, treatment planning, and coordination of care—all within steps of where young patients receive treatment.
The adjacent meeting space serves multiple purposes: physician-parent conferences, multidisciplinary case discussions, continuing medical education sessions, and research activities. Together, these spaces embody what makes the Blood & Cancer Center unique: truly integrated care under one roof.
A center built on generosity
The Banner Children's Blood & Cancer Center opened in 2025 thanks to a $5 million donation from the James M. Cox Family Foundation. The state-of-the-art facility consolidates what were previously separate services—the pediatric hematology-oncology clinic and outpatient pediatric treatment center—into one convenient location.
The Blood & Cancer Center serves an estimated 562 unique patients annually, with projections showing growth to more than 2,255 unique patients and family members by 2034. Many of these families come from the East Valley's 325,000+ residents under age 18, as well as from Southern Maricopa County, Pinal County, and the Gila River Indian Community itself.
GRIC tribal members already utilize many of Banner Health's facilities and services in Mesa and throughout Maricopa County. The fully integrated pediatric cancer center has become a vital resource for some of the region's most vulnerable pediatric patients.
For families dealing with childhood cancer, this integration means no more traveling to multiple locations for diagnosis, testing, lab draws, treatment, and follow-up care. The center features five exam rooms, four private infusion rooms, two infusion bays, and dedicated space for wrap-around services including psychosocial support and integrative therapies.
GRIC's contribution completed a critical piece of this vision. As Laura Robertson, CEO of Banner Desert Medical Center, noted during the visit, "The Gila River Indian Community has played an invaluable role in Banner Children's at Desert, specifically through their support of the Blood & Cancer Center, which created a collaborative provider space for patient-centered comprehensive care for children facing cancer."
A partnership rooted in community
Since 2009, GRIC has donated more than $1.9 million through the Banner Health Foundation, supporting programs in Banner hospital NICUs and across our academic medical enterprise, and capital needs. Their funding comes through the 12% gaming revenue program (Proposition 202), administered by the GRIC Office of Special Funding.
During their visit in June, GRIC board members and program administrator Cheryl Pablo toured not only the physician offices and Book Nook but also the treatment areas, toy closet, and other spaces within the center. The group met with patients and families, witnessing firsthand the impact of their generosity.
"Philanthropic support from our generous partners allows Banner to improve facilities and enhance services that make life better for our patients and communities," explains Andy Petersen, president of the Banner Health Foundation. "We are deeply grateful to the Gila River Indian Community for their sustained commitment to Banner Children's and for this generous grant that offers ease, greater convenience, and comfort to kids, teens, and their families during a difficult time."
The Book Nook stands as a daily reminder of this partnership—a quiet space where young patients can escape into stories, where siblings can find comfort, and where the Gila River Indian Community's legacy of caring for children continues to unfold, one page at a time.