Ronald McDonald charity sets up first family room in northern Ontario

You've heard of Ronald McDonald House, but unless you've had a sick child you may not be familiar with the charity's family rooms.

One of those special areas will be created at Health Sciences North in Sudbury, becoming the first of its kind in northern Ontario.

Faye Roberts, manager of Family Rooms for Ronald McDonald House Charities Toronto, expects the space to be well used by those families who have children undergoing medical care at HSN.

"Health Sciences North provides a very sizeable neonatal intensive care unit and a very busy pediatrics department," she said, adding the Sudbury hospital is a hub for other medical facilities in the north.

"It was just a very logical choice to take a look at Health Sciences North. We have a number of [northern] families that come to Sick Kids [Hospital] downtown," Roberts said.

When a hospital has a family room, it provides parents and siblings a needed place of respite, she noted.

A place to 'laugh out loud or shed a tear'

Roberts says normal waiting areas in hospitals don't provide privacy or the same sense of peace as a Ronald McDonald House Charities family room.

"It's a quiet place where parents can laugh out loud or shed a tear; just this safe space where they can spend five minutes and get a sense of normalcy."

The new family room in Sudbury will be in the centre of the pediatrics and neonatal intensive care unit at the hospital.

Hospital public relations officer Dan Lessard says HSN is excited for the family room and what it will mean for both pediatric patients and their families.

He says the stress of having a sick child can sometimes get to parents.

"They get that little bit of a reprieve while they're on hospital property. That's going to mean a lot for the kids, because their families are going to be close to them. And it's certainly going to mean a lot for the families knowing that they can stay right there."

The RMHC family room at HSN will have a lounge, a kitchenette and two rest/respite areas. Roberts says it will be a communal space for a number of families whose children are receiving medical care in the pediatrics department. She says it should be ready to open this December.

December opening

Lessard says the only similar space on site at HSN is in the birthing area, where loved ones of a labouring mom can get a bit of rest. He says similar family rooms exist at the House of Kin or in local hotels, but the RMHC family room will be the first one right at the hospital.

The new family room will have a local coordinator, however Roberts says it will need about 70 volunteers to help run the space on a weekly basis.

RMHC is looking for interested volunteers. Roberts says a medical or child care background is not necessary. She says all potential volunteers will be interviewed and must provide a police check.

RMHC Toronto has six other locations and the Sudbury site will be its seventh.