Located at the site of the former Vincent Memorial Hospital at 125 South Huntington Ave. in Jamaica Plain, the AstraZeneca Hope Lodge Center in Boston, a program of the American Cancer Society (ACS), offers cancer patients and their families who must travel to Boston for medical treatment free lodging in 40 new and spacious private suites, support services and transportation to treatment, all in a sharing environment. The program marked its opening Oct. 29 at a ribbon-cutting ceremony with special guests including Peter L. Slavin, MD, MGH president; James J. Mongan, MD, president and chief executive officer of Partners HealthCare; Mayor Thomas M. Menino; and leaders from BWH, ACS, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (DFCI) and AstraZeneca.

The $27 million project features 48,000 square feet of renovated and new space and offers patients and families private rooms, shared cooking and dining areas, a library and a small screening room. The MGH, BWH and DFCI each have donated between $2 and $2.5 million dollars for the project. The facility is the first Hope Lodge in Boston and the second in Massachusetts to provide a comfortable and supportive homelike environment to help ensure that more patients are able to access Boston's world-class cancer care at hospitals such as the MGH.

GRAND OPENING: Slavin, fourth from right, joins other special guests at the Hope Lodge dedication.