Edinburg Children's Hospital and Ronald McDonald House Charities Break Wall for Family Room

Friday, January 9th, 2009

Texas Border Business

Construction of a Ronald McDonald Family Room is underway at Edinburg Children’s Hospital. The announcement was made and celebrated during a wall breaking ceremony led by Edinburg Children Hospital officials and Ronald McDonald House Charities representatives.

Edinburg Children’s Hospital is slated to become the Rio Grande Valley’s first hospital to open the new facility. Hospital officials say the family room is expected to be completed as early as the first week in February.

The Ronald McDonald Family Room at Edinburg Children’s hospital will include three overnight sleeping rooms along with a living room/lounge, kitchen, laundry and bathroom/shower facilities. Its’ Southwest interior décor and amenities are intended to provide families with a break from the hospital setting.

The project is part of a $1.8 million plan, by Ronald McDonald House Charities to expand its services by establishing facilities in five area hospitals in the next 3-5 years.

The new facilities -- called Ronald McDonald Family Rooms -- will provide comfort and care to parents in a similar fashion to that provided by a Ronald McDonald House, but within the walls of the host hospital.

Some planned Family Rooms will have overnight sleeping accommodations, and all will include lounge, kitchen and bathroom/shower facilities.Three additional hospitals -– Knapp Medical Center in Weslaco, McAllen Medical Center and Valley Baptist Medical Center – Brownsville -- are in the early planning stages for eventual Ronald McDonald Family Rooms.

Patient family needs assessments have been conducted and the hospitals are currently including the Family Room concept in their space planning activities with the goal of opening a Family Room in 2-3 years.

The organization is undertaking a $1.8 million capital campaign to pay for the five facilities. About $1.35 million has been raised, including a $200,000 challenge grant from the Mabee Foundation in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Host hospitals will contribute an estimated $700,000 in construction costs. The campaign includes 3 years of operating support for the new facilities.The capital campaign is chaired by Harlingen auto dealer Frank Boggus and McAllen businessman Jim Collins.

Both have made leadership gifts to the effort. Local McDonald’s owner-operators have committed $100,000. Other leadership gifts have been received from Texas State Bank, H-E-B Tournament of Champions and InterNational Bank.

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