A $12-million house that will provide comfort to families who have critically ill babies, sick children and high-risk pregnancies is nearing completion across from Red Deer Regional Hospital Centre.
Ronald McDonald House Central Alberta — the multi-coloured three-storey house backing onto Gaetz Avenue — is more than three-quarters of the way done. About 400 families a year are expected to use the affordable accommodations.
Larry Mathieson, executive director of Ronald McDonald House for Southern Alberta and Central Alberta, and board president Susan Smed, took the Advocate on a tour of the building recently while tradesworkers sawed, painted and worked on other projects through the house.
Site work on the 11-suite, 27,000-square-foot facility began last summer. A public open house will go on Saturday, Feb. 4, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
With the end in sight, Mathieson and Smed said they’re looking forward to Feb. 27 when the first families will move in.
They say it’s a house that’s been designed to be warm and inviting. It is full of regular amenities, plus much more for families who could stay there for weeks or months at a time.
Families will be able to cook their own meals and then sit together in a grand room with ceiling-high windows. The view overlooks the park across the street from bustling Gaetz Avenue.
There’s a play area directly across from the kitchen for children.
“And we have a barbecue pit here, which again takes away the stress of being here and away from home,” said Mathieson. “Anything that can make life normal.”
Also on the main floor is a library room — a larger space than what’s found at Edmonton’s Ronald McDonald House. The decision to make it more spacious was based on input from families who have stayed there.
When a child arrives at the house or reaches a special milestone, they are given a key to The Magic Room. Red Deer’s room, designed by Studio Y Creations, will resemble a barn full of character sculpted animals, plus a pretend pickup truck.
Children will get to choose a toy from a grand selection inside the barn.
A playground that includes a large purple dinosaur will bring children outside.
There’s also places where families can congregate on the upper floors, including television rooms. Even the laundry rooms, brightly coloured and spacious, are meant to be inviting.
“We tried to design the spaces where people will naturally congregate and will get to know other people (including staff and volunteers),” said Mathieson. “We have people who get to know others who have critically ill children and they end up staying in contact for years and years.”
There’s also a couple of nursing rooms where breast pump machines will be on hand.
“We don’t have nursing rooms in Calgary so people have to sign out the pumps,” said Mathieson. “So what happens, is the pump ends up in someone’s room and then at 2 a.m. somebody else wants one. In this building, there will always be a pump (in the room) and there’s a TV.”
The top-floor nursing room also includes a shower. Even families from Red Deer will be able to pop by for a quick coffee or sojourn.
The suites all face away from the hospital. Windows in each suite are large enough to give a lot of brightness, plus they open up onto a makeshift balcony. There’s ample wall unit space to store clothes and other items.
“There’s twice as much storage as what’s found in Calgary — based on what our family focus groups were saying,” said Mathieson.
There’s also a couple of barrier-free rooms.
Mathieson said they added environmental features into the house, like cork flooring that also dampens sound. And each room has its own unit for ventilation so that families can control the heat in the room.
“Calgary utility costs are lower, even though we have this individualized system,” Mathieson said.
ltester@www.reddeeradvocate.com