Children's Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota Opens Ronald McDonald Family Room in St. Paul

ST. PAUL, Minn., July 9, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Children's Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota and Ronald McDonald House Charities, Upper Midwest (RMHC-UM) announced today the grand opening of its new Ronald McDonald Family Room inside Children's – St. Paul. The Ronald McDonald Family Room is the latest addition to the comprehensive family amenities space hosted at Children's – St. Paul, which also includes the Child Life Zone, Family Resource Center, Interfaith Chapel and Geek Squad Precinct.

The new Ronald McDonald Family Room is expected to serve more than one thousand patient families each year. Features include four overnight sleeping rooms with private bathrooms, a spacious kitchen, a hospitality area for refreshments and relaxation, a Help Yourself pantry, an exercise room and laundry facilities. In addition, Cooks for Kids volunteers will prepare and serve home cooked meals in the space seven days a week.

"This new Ronald McDonald Family Room will provide patient families with a comfortable and caring home-away-from-home while their child is treated at Children's," said Joy Johnson-Lind, MSW/LICSW, Children's senior director of child and family services. "When your child is hospitalized it can be stressful on families, so we do everything we can to make them feel at home."

The new Ronald McDonald Family Room was made possible thanks to generous community support, including gifts from the Chadima and Johnson families. Thanks to these families, and many other donors in the community, services provided to patient families at the Ronald McDonald Family Room are free of charge.

"We are thrilled to open our fourth Twin Cities location inside Children's – St. Paul," stated John Stanoch, RMHC-UM president and CEO. "The Ronald McDonald Family Room will be a supportive environment for thousands of patient families, whether staying overnight, enjoying a meal provided by community volunteers through our Cooks for Kids program or simply relaxing in a beautiful and comfortable space."

The Ronald McDonald Family Room is located inside Children's – St. Paul, 345 North Smith Avenue, on the third floor.

About Children's Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota
Children's Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota is one of the largest pediatric health systems in the United States and the only health system in Minnesota to provide care exclusively to children, from before birth through young adulthood. An independent and not-for-profit system since 1924, Children's serves kids throughout the Upper Midwest at two free-standing hospitals, 12 primary and specialty-care clinics and six rehabilitation sites. Children's maintains its longstanding commitment to the community to improve children's health by providing high-quality, family-centered pediatric services and advancing those efforts through research and education. This work is made possible in large part by generous philanthropic and volunteer support from individuals and organizations throughout the state and region. An award-winning health system, Children's is regularly ranked by U.S. News & World Report as a top children's hospital. Please visit childrensMN.org.

About RMHC-UM
Ronald McDonald House Charities, Upper Midwest is a 501 (c) 3 organization whose mission is to provide a comfortable and caring home-away-from-home that supports keeping families together and reduces stress during a child's serious illness. Based in Minneapolis, the organization operates 4 locations in the Twins Cities and serves more than 4,000 families each year. Additional information can be found at www.rmhtwincities.org.

Media Contact:
Madeline Riggs
Children's Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota
Office: 612-813-6724
[email protected]

SOURCE Children's Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota

Related Links

http://www.childrensMN.org