What is a Family Room and what is it for children and parents in hospitals

In the future, this condition may lead to hospitalism syndrome - a number of psychosomatic disorders in a child associated with a long stay in a medical institution away from family and home. According to research by child psychoanalyst Rene Spitz, this can lead to stunted development of the child, colic and eczema in infants.

At the same time, for adults, the difficult period of a child's illness is also difficult, and they need support. According to research, 27% of parents have post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after a child's hospital stay, as a result of experiencing severe stressful events.

How successfully a small patient will fight the disease depends to a large extent on the support of relatives.

Even just a familiar touch or voice is soothing and protective.

Conversely, being around babies can help you quickly overcome PTSD in adults.

This is well understood by the "Ronald McDonald House Foundation" - a charitable organization that seeks to create a world in which children enjoy the benefits of quality health care, and their families can be around, support and actively participate in care and treatment. For this, for four years in Ukraine, the Foundation has been equipping Ronald McDonald Family Rooms in the largest children's medical institutions.

Comfortable and comfortable, reminiscent of their own home, helping to distract from sad thoughts as much as possible and to believe in their own strength - such should be places for families in hospitals.

In Family Rooms, relatives can relax, eat, satisfy basic hygiene needs, take time to communicate and play with the child, meet with relatives who have come to visit child. And in the largest room in the Sumy Regional Children's Hospital with an area of ​​180 sq. m. there are four separate bedrooms with separate bathrooms, where families can stay overnight and even live for weeks, if necessary, during inpatient treatment of children.

The use of the rooms for families is free.

Sophia was to be admitted to the regional hospital for several weeks, and I faced a problem - where to stay in order to be near the child. Driving home every day for 150 km is long and difficult. It was expensive for us to rent a hotel. Leaving the little shy Sofiyka was not even discussed. From the doctor, I learned about the Family Room in the hospital, which for several weeks became a real cozy home for us - we spent time here together, relaxed and played, distracted from worries,

- Mom Tatiana, who was with Sofia in the Vinnytsia Regional Children's Hospital, shares her experience.

Another story is about the Laponog family, which has 7 children. Mom Alla is a real heroine for them.

And not only for them, but for all the guests of the Family Room in the Sumy Regional Children's Hospital, who watched with delight how every morning Alla left little David and Lyuba for the procedures and instructed the other 5 children who remained on the household. In the Family Room, Alla could relax and spend time with her son and daughter.

Since its foundation in Ukraine, 5 Ronald McDonald Family Rooms have already been opened in Ukrainian hospitals: the Regional Children's Clinical Hospital "Okhmatdet" in Lviv, Vinnitsa, Sumy, Kharkov regional children's clinical hospitals and the National Children's Specialized Hospital "Okhmatdet" in Kiev.

Over the years, Family Rooms have been visited free of charge over 60,000 times.

To date, the Foundation has received about 20 applications from children's state hospitals for the arrangement of Family Rooms for relatives of sick children. The foundation exists at the expense of benefactors, you can support the maintenance and arrangement of Family Rooms by making a contribution:

https://rmhc.org.ua.