The third floor of Mercy Medical Center in Rogers will be transformed into a haven for families of sick children.
Ronald McDonald House Charities of Arkoma will formally announce Northwest Arkansas’ first Family Room on Feb. 1. The facility is scheduled to open in July.
“We are blessed and fortunate to partner for the home here,” said Scott Street, president and chief executive officer of Mercy Health System of Northwest Arkansas. “We have very similar missions.”
He said both organizations want to do a better job taking care of those in need, especially when a child is sick.
Ronald McDonald Family Rooms give family members a place to rest and regroup when a child is in the hospital.
About 3,200 square feet on the hospital’s third floor will house four bedrooms, a kitchen, dining room, sitting room, play area, bathrooms and laundry facilities.
Stephanie Medford, executive director of the local Ronald McDonald House Charities, said the space also creates built-in support groups.
“That is one of the coolest things about this,” she said. “Parents can talk to people going through similar situations.”
The main goal, however, is to keep families together, Medford said.
Ronald McDonald Family Rooms provide the same services as Ronald McDonald Houses but are located within a medical facility. They are staffed and open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year and available to families with sick children 18 and younger.
Rooms are available on a first-come, first-served basis, and there is no charge.
“We feel like we get more back if we don’t charge. Families end up giving back through donations and volunteer time later on,” Medford said.
“We like the way we are just a heartbeat away,” said Leah Jones, Ronald McDonald Family Room program manager.
The state’s first Ronald McDonald Family Room opened at Mercy Fort Smith in December 2010.
Medford said Mercy approached her group about opening a facility in Rogers.
“They came to us and asked what they needed to do to get this going,” she said. “I have a feeling some day we will have space in all the local hospitals.”
The physician’s sleeping area was moved from the third floor to another part of the hospital to make room for the family room.
In addition to providing space rent-free, Mercy is also footing the bill for utilities and provides onsite services such as housekeeping and maintenance.
“It’s a pretty significant contribution,” she said. “In Fort Smith, the hospital writes off about $20,000 a year for the Family Room.”
Street anticipates there will be some minor ongoing expenses.
The charity is kicking off a fundraising campaign next month with hopes of raising $700,000 to complete renovations on the Rogers space.
Bill and Walter Mathews, owners of Mathews Management, donated $100,000 to start the fundraising drive, Medford said. Mathews Management owns franchising rights to all area McDonald’s.
Medford said Ronald McDonald House Charities operates as a nonprofit group and isn’t officially affiliated with McDonald’s Corporation outside a licensing agreement used primarily for marketing.
“McDonald’s is the charity’s largest corporate donor, but they don’t fully fund us and we work to raise additional funds,” she said.
Mathews Management employs about 1,700 people, and they donate their own time and money to the cause, Medford said.
Medford said she hopes to speak to local groups to spread the word about the charity’s work.
Web Watch
Ronald McDonald Room
To see the plans for the Ronald McDonald room, go to www.nwaonline.com.
At A Glance (w/logo)
Ronald McDonald House
The first Ronald McDonald House opened in 1974 and the first Family Room opened in 1992. Today there are more than 300 Ronald McDonald Houses and Ronald McDonald House Charities have local chapters in 57 countries. Ronald McDonald House Charities of Arkoma formed in 1999. Information at Ronald McDonald House Charities of Arkoma can be found online at www.rmhcofarkoma.org.
Source: Staff Report