Ronald McDonald House will expand to Sudbury in December with a new family room that will provide some respite for the families and caregivers of children in Health Sciences North's pediatrics and neonatal intensive care units.
The room will be nearly 800 square feet and will have a TV lounge area and a kitchenette stocked with snacks and beverages. There will also be two rest and respite areas where family members can comfortably sleep.
“The family rooms are really an extension of our mission to keep families close,” said Faye Roberts, the family room manager with Ronald McDonald House Charities Toronto.
Roberts said the organizations currently operates six similar rooms in the Greater Toronto Area. The Sudbury room will be the first located outside of the GTA.
“There's a real focus on pediatrics in the North, and that's one of the reasons we're partnering with Health Sciences North,” Roberts said.
HSN spokesperson Dan Lessard said the hospital is "thrilled and grateful that Ronald McDonald House Charities Toronto has chosen HSN as the location for its first Family Room in Northern Ontario."
"It will be a huge benefit to the kids and their families who come to HSN for care," Lessard told Sudbury.com. "Because families can have their own space where they can go to unwind and relax ... they get to stay close to their kids. It's a huge stress reliever for both, and we're so excited to have this Family Room here."
The room will be open 12 hours a day – from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. – seven days per week.
Roberts said a local co-ordinator is recruiting the 70 volunteers Ronald McDonald House will need to staff the family room.
The room will be located near Health Sciences North's pediatrics and neo-natal intensive care units, and is expected to open in mid-December.
