Rooms Make Hospital Feel Like Home
Family Rooms Seek Volunteers

The first two Ronald McDonald House Family Rooms at Texas Children’s Hospital have opened and are providing a welcomed respite for family members visiting hospitalized children. Through a partnership with Texas Children’s Hospital, the Ronald McDonald House can now provide, within the hospital, a home away from home to families of seriously ill children being cared for at Texas Children’s.

The Family Rooms serve as an extension of Ronald McDonald House of Houston, located at 1907 Holcombe Blvd., and a resource for families in need. The Ronald McDonald House staff offers the care and love only volunteers can bring to these special rooms.

On May 8 last year, the first Family Room, located in the hospital’s hematology/oncology section, opened to serve not only the hematology/oncology patients’ families, but also bone marrow transplant families on the eighth floor. The room consists of a cozy living area with a television and videocassette recorder, and a kitchenette with a microwave, refrigerator, toaster, coffeepot, and bread machine. While patients are within eyesight in the playroom across the hall, families and guests are encouraged to stop in to visit with one another, and grab a quick snack at any time throughout the day or evening.

The second Family Room opened last October and is located in the new Texas Children’s Cancer Center Clinic on the 14th floor. This room is very similar to the first Family Room and supports families of patients, many who spend hours waiting in the clinic for outpatient procedures. The Family Room offers a comfortable place for families to relax, eat, and visit, while children play and do crafts.

The third and largest Family Room will open this July. It will provide 20 sleep/nap rooms with private baths, a kitchen, a living room, quiet rooms, a library/computer room, and laundry room. The Family Room will be located on the fourth floor of the Abercrombie Building, adjacent to the Neonatal ICU. The Ronald McDonald House will work closely with the hospital nursing staff to provide support for patient families in need.

Although these rooms seem similar, each provides a unique environment for families.

As the reach of Ronald McDonald House of Houston expands, more and more volunteer support is needed to fill three-hour shifts, Monday through Sunday, from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Volunteers will help maintain the Family Rooms, lend an ear and interact with the families, sit for short periods of time with inpatient children while parents take a break, run quick errands within the hospital, help parents find information as needed, and provide activities and refreshments. Each Family Room offers volunteers a variety of choices, and each volunteer will bring their own special gifts to the rooms.

Volunteers and volunteer organizations are also needed to bring homemade goodies, lunches, and dinners for the families, or collect items on the Ronald McDonald House "Wish List."

For further volunteer information, contact the Kathryn Paine at (713) 795-3564.

E-Mail: tmcinfo@texmedctr.tmc.edu
URL: http://www.tmc.edu/tmcnews/04_01_02/page_24.html