Without Masterson Place, Carl Niswonger said he and his wife, Patricia, would be spending the next six weeks in a 29-foot camper parked somewhere in Casper.

"It would be really cold for her," Carl Niswonger said. "We would have to run a lot of heaters."

Patricia has lung cancer. Though she had a lung removed in September, traces of the cancer remain and she must receive radiation every weekday for the next six weeks.

The couple lives in Riverton, where radiation services aren't provided, so Patricia receives radiation at Rocky Mountain Oncology in Casper.

They can travel back home on the weekends but must stay in Casper during the week. Carl Niswonger doubts they would be able to afford a hotel for the entire time.

Instead, the Niswongers are staying in a warm, spacious room at Masterson Place, a hospitality house that provides low-cost lodging for families of patients at the Wyoming Medical Center and other health care facilities in Casper.

At only $35 a night - and with additional cost assistance from Rocky Mountain Oncology - the Niswongers are happy with the warmer sleeping option.

In 2001, Mary Masterson donated $1 million to the Wyoming Medical Center Foundation to create Masterson Place, which has served more than 80,000 people over the past four years. The foundation used the money to buy the old Best Western hotel at 2325 E. Yellowstone Highway.

The main building was built in the 1940s and the annex in the 1970s, said Shawn Bassham, executive director of the foundation. Bassham said many expected that the old hotel would need extensive renovations.

Over the past few years, 10 of the about 38 rooms, including the Niswongers' room, have been restored with the help of some local organizations. The current fiscal year, which ends June 30, will be the busiest yet for renovations.

The foundation completed an on-site laundry facility in June and a physician suite in October and has plans to add a common room and garden.

The physician's suite will provide housing to some visiting medical students during their residency rotation in Casper.

The suite will house residents in WWAMI, a medical residency program affiliated with the University of Washington School of Medicine in Seattle. Its acronym comes from the five participating states: Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana and Idaho.

Residents that come to train at the Wyoming Medical Center typically stay about six weeks, and finding housing for that short period is difficult, Bassham said.

"I don't even know who you could rent from," Bassham said.

She hopes that having a nice place to stay when they come here might influence some medical residents to return to Casper to practice after graduating. The suite comes fully furnished and wireless Internet was added to the room.

"It was designed to be very homey," Bassham said. Two medical students have already stayed in the room.

The common room, spearheaded by Sue Masterson, Mary's daughter-in-law, will begin after Jan. 1.

Sue Masterson said she is in the process of trying to get local businesses to help her create a common room. The renovation will replace the old honeymoon suite, including knocking down a wall and tearing out the "tacky," heart-shaped bathtub, Sue Masterson said.

After the construction, Sue Masterson said she hopes to put in a big-screen television, a pool table and a card table.

"I envision it as a place for families to get together, especially for the kids," Sue Masterson said.

Sue Masterson said Mary Masterson's vision for creating "a home away from home" is beginning to take form and her mother-in-law would be proud of what has been done.

Before Mary Masterson died in 2005, she wanted to create a garden where families could spend time, and on Oct. 16 officials broke ground on "Mary's Garden." The garden will be completed when the weather warms.

"We want people to be able to go outside and sit in the fresh air," Sue Masterson said. "It's especially good for people when they are in the hospital. Sometimes all you need is just a walk around the block."

The Niswongers are staying at Masterson Place for the fourth time and will likely spend New Year's Eve there. Carl Niswonger sings its praises.

"The room is not new, not fancy, but it's accessible, cost-effective, and people here are really nice," Niswonger said. "For someone coming from out of town, it is ideal."

Contact health reporter Allison Rupp at (307) 266-0534 or allison.rupp@trib.com.