RMH

MEDIA RELEASE 
ATTENTION:  NEWS / HEALTH EDITORS

Mississauga/West Toronto (April 13, 2012)  – Thanks to the new Ronald McDonald Family Room, parents with ill newborns in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at the Credit Valley Hospital (CVH) site of The Credit Valley Hospital and Trillium Health Centre now have some much-needed respite from the hospital’s clinical environment.  The Family Room – the first of its kind in the Greater Toronto Area – is the result of a partnership between CVH, Ronald McDonald House® Toronto and Ronald McDonald House Charities® Canada.

The Ronald McDonald Family Room at CVH opened in February to provide parents with a retreat from the medical pressures of the hospital, just steps away from their child’s bedside. The Family Room, which is adjacent to the NICU in the Erin Mills Regional Women’s and Children’s Health Centre, is designed to be a soothing place of comfort, care and compassion. The Family Room is equipped with a kitchenette, a lounge area with a television, four sleeping rooms and a shower facility.

“We are most excited to extend our support and services to local families of seriously ill children when they need it most,” said Jane Marco, Executive Director, Ronald McDonald House Toronto. “As a ‘home away from home’ within a hospital setting, the Ronald McDonald Family Room at CVH will help these families heal better together.”

“Our partnership with Ronald McDonald House Toronto is incredibly important to the patients and families we care for at Credit Valley,” said Dr. Ann Bayliss, Chief of Paediatrics, CVH. “It’s essential that we care for the entire family during the child’s illness, to provide them with a level of care and comfort during a very difficult time.”

The Ronald McDonald Family Room Program brings the comforting and supportive experience of Ronald McDonald House Toronto right into the hospital setting, serving families from out of town as well as those who live nearby. The Family Room at Credit Valley will serve families from Mississauga, and surrounding communities including West Toronto, Oakville, Burlington, Milton, Acton and Georgetown.

Ronald McDonald House Toronto is responsible for staffing, funding, furnishing and operating the Family Room at CVH. There are over 40 volunteers who contribute their time to running the Family Room.

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About Ronald McDonald House Toronto
For more than 30 years Ronald McDonald House Toronto has been fulfilling its mission to provide a “home away from home” for seriously ill children and their families to heal better together. Providing an array of services for families to heal better together, Ronald McDonald
House Toronto offers a place for sleeping, schooling, working, cooking and playing. It also provides vital therapeutic programs that help sick children, their siblings and their parents get to a better place emotionally. For more information visit www.rmhtoronto.org.

About Ronald McDonald House Charities Canada
Ronald McDonald House Charities Canada is the national organization that helps support the network of Ronald McDonald Houses and Ronald McDonald Family Rooms across Canada. To learn more visit www.rmhc.ca.

About The Credit Valley Hospital and Trillium Health Centre
The Credit Valley Hospital and Trillium Health Centre is a newly merged hospital serving Mississauga, West Toronto and the surrounding communities. It is one of Ontario’s largest community-based academic health networks and has a teaching affiliation with the Mississauga Academy of Medicine at the University of Toronto Mississauga.

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MEDIA CONTACTS: 
  
Liz Leake, Communication and Public Affairs
The Credit Valley Hospital site
The Credit Valley Hospital and Trillium Health Centre
905-813-1100 ext. 4887
[email protected]

Lianne Castelino
Communications Officer
Ronald McDonald House Toronto
416-977-0458 ext. 269
[email protected]