A Brookline inn for families of patients at Boston Children's Hospital offers one lodging option, but finding any open bed near Boston's hospitals has become its own ordeal for families traveling long distances for specialized medical care.
That squeeze is at the center of a recent report from The Boston Globe, which traced the experience of families forced to navigate a patchwork of nonprofit housing, discounted hotel rooms, and long waitlists while loved ones underwent treatment at Boston's major hospitals. Boston Children's Hospital also has a Patient Family Housing Program.
Boston Children’s Hospital’s Patient Family Housing Program offers a lodging option for families traveling for care.
The Yawkey Family Inn opened in 2009. Together with the nearby Devon Nicole House, the Inn serves nearly 1,700 families a year, according to the hospital's giving page.
Waitlists Stack Up Across Boston's Patient Housing Network
Boston Children's isn't the only option families lean on. Waitlists can complicate the search for lodging. Ronald McDonald House New England announced in May it is launching a multiyear fundraising campaign to build a new flagship House meant to accommodate more than 2,000 international families annually at no cost, per a release from the organization.
That organization reported providing 9,294 nights of housing and 18,280 meals in 2025 alone, saving families an estimated $2.7 million. For cancer patients, the American Cancer Society's Hope Lodge program offers lodging.
The American Cancer Society’s Hope Lodge program offers a larger national comparison: its network has 31 locations, including Boston, and 1,100 private rooms. The Society says the lodges provide free stays for cancer patients and caregivers traveling for outpatient treatment, and that patients often face weeks of treatment away from home. The program’s national overview describes lodging as one way to reduce the financial burden of reaching care.
Why Families Keep Coming From Farther Away
Boston Children’s draws patients from beyond New England: the hospital has said that more than 2,500 families living outside the United States seek care there in most years. Its clinical services include Neurology & Neurosurgery. That international reach and highly specialized care help explain why some families must arrange lodging far from home while a child receives treatment. The hospital’s description of its international services outlines the support it provides to families traveling for care, and its neurosurgery service page lists the program.
Hydrocephalus involves excess fluid in the brain.
Whatever the forces pulling families toward Boston's hospitals, finding lodging can remain a challenge for families seeking care.
