When Suzanne’s son was involved in an accident and hospitalized in the ICU, she didn’t think twice about traveling across country to be with him, so she could care for him at his bedside. The specialists at the Trauma Center were his best chance at survival. What she didn’t anticipate was how the cost of lodging near the hospital would add an overwhelming financial burden to an already stressful situation. She left work to travel for what she originally thought would be a few days, which then became a few weeks.
At $200 per night, the hotel bill quickly ballooned– and then there were expenses for meals, parking fees, and transportation. Like many families seeking specialized medical care far from home, their family faced an unexpected financial strain. “We weren’t alone,” she said. “I met families in the hospital waiting room who were sleeping in their cars, sleeping in hospital waiting rooms or cramming multiple people into a single hotel room just to afford being there for their loved ones.”
Renown Health is pleased to announce a new partnership with area hotels to provide discounted lodging rates for patients, their families and their caregivers, ensuring convenient and affordable accommodations during medical visits or for extended stays. This initiative aims to ease the burden of travel and lodging, offering comfort, support and healing.
“We didn’t want this to be the situation for our patients, families and caregivers, said Mavis Major, Ph.D., MSW, LCSW, Certified Case Manager and Behavioral Health Therapist at Renown Health, and champion for the Discounted Lodging Program at Renown Health. “We want people to focus on getting treatment and healing, not worrying about how they are going to pay for a place to sleep. We thank so many area hotels for helping to help ease the financial and logistical burden for those traveling for medical care, ensuring they have comfortable and affordable accommodations close to our hospital facilities.”
Renown Health is the region’s largest, locally governed, not-for-profit integrated academic health care network serving Nevada, Lake Tahoe, and northeast California. The organization comprises a Level 2 trauma center, two acute care hospitals- Renown Regional Medical Center and Renown South Meadows Medical Center, Renown Children’s Hospital, and Renown Rehabilitation Hospital, all providing service to over one million residents from 100,000 square miles, from Salt Lake City to Sacramento, and international visitors to Lake Tahoe. In 2024, over 133,000 patients received care in across their four emergency departments/trauma and stroke centers; and almost 28,000 people were hospitalized or had surgery at a Renown medical center in Reno, NV.
“At Renown Health, we understand that healing extends beyond the walls of our hospitals and medical facilities. Offering discounted rates for families to stay nearby ensures that patients have the comfort and support of their loved ones during critical moments,” said Brian Erling, MD, MBA, President and CEO, Renown Health. “No family should have to choose between being present for their loved one’s care and financial strain. We are thankful for the generosity of our hotel partners in extending these discounts. Together, we are putting people-first and helping to support community businesses and the local economy.”
Renown worked with the Reno-Sparks Convention & Visitors Authority and Reno + Sparks Chamber of Commerce to seek proposals from area hotels to provide discounted rates for patients and families who require temporary and extended lodging during medical treatments and surgical stays.
As part of the initiative, the team from Renown Health personally visited each hotel to evaluate the rooms, ensuring they met quality, comfort, and accessibility standards for recovering patients. Seth Langevin, VP for Renown Rehabilitation Hospital and the Neurology and Cardiology Service Lines, added “As a physical therapist, I wanted to ensure the rooms met the needs of individuals with mobility challenges or other physical limitations. These may include wider doorways for wheelchair access, easy-to-operate door handles, roll-in showers with grab bars, shower benches, clearance around the bed for wheelchairs and walkers, and designated accessible parking spaces close to the entrance and step free access to dining areas and lobbies. I was very pleased with the mobility and accessibility options offered by our area hotel partners, and excited to recommend them to our patients and families.”
All discounted lodging options are now featured on the renown.org website, under Patients and Visitors/Lodging, so that all patients and visitors may experience accommodations that are clean, comfortable, affordable and conveniently located near our hospitals,” said Tori Bowlin, Digital Specialist at Renown, who created the content for the new webpage. “By partnering with local hotels, we hope to provide relief and support to patients and families during what can be a challenging time.”
“Hotels were evaluated based on the following criteria, Quality of Services Offered; Scope of Services Offered; Competitive Pricing; Value Added Services; Overall Responsiveness to this RFP and Selection Process,” said Julie Carmella-Brand, Supply Chain Contract Specialist, who coordinated the Request for Proposal and contracting process. “Our hotel partners offer reduced rates for patients and their families, flexible booking and cancellation policies to accommodate changing medical/surgical schedules, accessibility for guests with disabilities, families with children, proximity to hospitals, multilingual staff, inclusive policies, enhanced cleaning protocols, shuttle services to and from RNO airport, and to/from the hospitals, amenities such as free Wi-Fi, free breakfast, free parking and other conveniences.”
Participating hotels include: Atlantis Casino Resort Spa, Best Western Plus Sparks-Reno, Courtyard by Marriott Reno Downtown/Riverfront, Extended Stay America Premier Suites, Grand Sierra Resort & Casino, Peppermill Resort Spa Casino, The Inn at Renown, Renaissance Reno Downtown Hotel & Spa, Ronald McDonald House of Northern Nevada, The Row (El Dorado, Circus Circus, Silver Legacy) and Veterans Guest House.
The discounted rates are also open to Renown employees, physicians, students and vendor partners. For more information on participating hotels and how to book, please visit Renown Lodging.
Experts available for media interviews:
- Mavis Major, Ph.D., MSW, LCSW, Certified Case Manager and Behavioral Health Therapist at Renown Health, and champion for the Discounted Lodging Program at Renown Health.
Contact: Renown Public Relations
M: 775-691-7308 E: news@renown.org - Toni Marini, VP of Casino Operations
M: 775-232-5980 E: tony.marini@silverlegacy.com - Kathi McGathey, Director of Operations, Veterans Guest House
(free housing for veterans/caregivers who are medical patients)
Office: 775-324-6958, ext. 10
