Ronald McDonald Family Room is Open at Riverside Methodist Hospital
Ronald McDonald House Charities of Central Ohio showcased their new Ronald McDonald House Family Room at OhioHealth Riverside Methodist Hospital on Monday, July 10, the day before the opening of the room. Leaders across OhioHealth and the community got to tour and celebrate the 1,000 square-foot space that will provide families of Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) patients a home away from home.
Upwards of 800 families each year will be able to utilize this space, while their tiny, vulnerable newborns are in the newly renovated NICU at Riverside. The average stay in the NICU is 19 days long. Families now have somewhere to de-stress and do things that they would normally have to leave their child and go home for. With laundry facilities, a shower and many more amenities, parents can stay near their loved one for as long as they need to. The first Ronald McDonald Family Room in central Ohio includes:
- Family gathering area with recliners and a television
- Dining area with a kitchenette, table and chairs
- Complimentary laundry machines (detergent provided)
- Children’s play area (games, crafts and gaming system)
- Multi-purpose space for massage, haircuts and other restorative practices
- Complimentary snack food and coffee
- ADA accessible shower (toiletries and linens provided)
- Work station with a desk, computer and complimentary Wi-Fi
The event attendees got to hear from Brian Jepson, Riverside president; Dee Anders, CEO and executive director of Ronald McDonald House Charities; Tammy Roberts Myers, president of the Ronald McDonald House Charities Executive Committee Board of Trustees; and Rev. Patricia Battle, chaplain at Riverside. The guests also got to hear musical talent from 12-year-old, Rani Prochniak Singh, who volunteered her time to play the piano at the dedication, along with Jean Warnick, a volunteer at Riverside.
Although Riverside is the first to open one in the area, there are over 200 different family rooms around the world.
“It is truly an honor to be the first hospital in central Ohio to offer the Ronald McDonald Family Room to the families of our NICU patients,” said Jepson. “While our care teams work diligently to improve the lives of our youngest patients, the new Family Room allows us to extend that same compassionate care to our NICU families.”
OhioHealth and Ronald McDonald House Charities both agreed that this room would not have been possible without the donations from the Columbus Blue Jackets Foundation, the Lady Jackets, Worthington Industries, Safelite AutoGlass and many others. They are very grateful for the support from the community.
View photos from the event in the album below. To see media coverage from the event, please click on their logos.
