Family to help with the demolition of site to make way for the New Ronald McDonald Family Room for Monash Children’s
The Area on 42 North at Monash Children’s at Monash Medical Centre has been turned into a demolition site with the help of the help of the Domotor Family from Traralgon. Rebecca, Pat & their 3 children spend most of their time at Monash Children’s while baby Chase born premature receives life saving treatment.Plans have been unveiled for a new Ronald McDonald Family Room to be built at the Monash Medical Centre in Clayton, completion is scheduled for the end of the year.
Rebecca, Alana, Lily and Layla will help the beginning of demolition of the current site for the construction of the new Family Room to be built at the Monash Children’s Monash Medical Centre later this year.
An initiative of RMHM in partnership with Southern Health, the new unit will be entirely funded, managed and staffed by RMHM on an ongoing basis.
Situated next to the children’s paediatric ward, the new unit is for the families and carers of children who are patients in the paediatric, oncology, intensive care and newborn services wards. It will have kitchen, shower, laundry, library and lounge facilities and a nap area.
Ms North said that the new Family Room would provide much needed respite for the families and carers of seriously ill children who are staying at the hospital.
“Life with a seriously ill child in hospital is anything but normal,” she said.
“Daily routines quickly become a thing of the past when families spend countless hours on the wards with their sick child. Days and nights take on a dream like quality with food and sleep snatched at odd times; family relationships can become strained; and worry is a constant companion.
In times of crisis like this, the new Family Room will be a comfortable, welcoming refuge. Here, families they will be able to prepare meals, take a shower, do their laundry, catch up on emails or just close their eyes and take a much needed rest for an hour or two. “We know that children respond much better to treatment when their families are close by and this facility will make it much easier for them to do that.”
Ms Shelly Park, Chief Executive of Southern Health said: “This new Family Room will be a wonderful addition to our facilities and is very much in line with our mission of providing a holistic model of care to patients, families and carers.”
Ms Park said that over 24,000 children were admitted to Monash last year for treatment and that number is expected to increase significantly in future.
About Ronald McDonald House Monash (RMHM)
RMHM opened its doors in 1993. Situated next to the Monash Medical Centre in Clayton, it provides a home away from home for the families of seriously ill children who are being treated at the hospital. Last year, 525 families stayed in the House from all over Victoria and interstate.
As well as operating the Clayton House, RMHM also manages the Ronald McDonald Family Retreat Holiday Accommodation Program in Ocean Grove for families with seriously ill children; the Ronald McDonald Learning Program for children who have missed school due to illness; and will be responsible for the new Ronald McDonald Family Room at Monash Children’s to be completed later this year.
All RMHM’s activities are funded by monies raised through fundraising programs and donations and its programs are supported heavily by volunteer staff.
For further information about how you may help with the Family Room, please call: Jennifer North, Executive Officer, Ronald McDonald House Monash Telephone (03) 9562 6223
M: 0418170992