View Larger Image A grand opening celebration was held Jan. 31 for the new Ronald McDonald Family Room on the fifth floor of the Medical Center.
A grand opening celebration was held Jan. 31 for the new Ronald McDonald Family Room on the fifth floor of the Medical Center. Image by Bryan Clifton

Ronald McDonald Family Room Opens at UAMS

By Kate Franks

| Visitors to the fifth floor of the UAMS Medical Center hospital can’t miss the bright yellow house with a red door and a heart coming out of the chimney. The entrance is just a hint of what lies inside – a warm, inviting, space that looks more like a hotel than a hospital.

The entrance to the new 2,000-square-foot Ronald McDonald Family Room on the fifth floor of UAMS Medical Center.

The entrance to the new 2,000-square-foot Ronald McDonald Family Room on the fifth floor of UAMS Medical Center.Bryan Clifton

This home-away-from-home for parents and siblings of babies in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) on the same floor of the hospital welcomed its first guests on Monday, Feb. 3, following a grand opening celebration and ribbon cutting Jan. 31. The celebration marked the end of a four-month construction process by RMHCA and two years of planning.

During the 2017-18 school year, a group of four first-year students from the University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service worked with Ronald McDonald House Charities of Arkansas (RMHCA) to identify needs of area hospitals and ways the nonprofit could expanded its programs to help fulfill these needs. The Clinton School team reported to RMHCA opportunities to help at the UAMS NICUI, and RMHCA soon began delivering meals and snacks to families of babies at UAMS.

The new Family Room has four bedrooms with private baths, two washers and dryers, a food prep area, comfortable couches and dining tables, a play space – and a very large refrigerator.

The new Family Room has four bedrooms with private baths, two washers and dryers, a food prep area, comfortable couches and dining tables, a play space – and a very large refrigerator.

After several months of this initial partnership, the RMHCA team asked to meet with NICU leadership to discuss the future direction of the program and other ways they could provide support for UAMS.

“Our nursing director Becky Sartini and I sat down with our social workers and came up with a list of requests,” said Sara Peeples, M.D., medical director of the UAMS NICU. “Our big ask was a new refrigerator. When we asked for that, they asked us if they could renovate the space and turn it into a Ronald McDonald Family Room. We got so much more than a refrigerator, and we are delighted with the outcome!”

While parents have been able to stay with their babies in their room for the past 11 years, the NICU has not been able to accommodate overnight stays by families with older children. The neonatal unit has 58 patient rooms and can serve up to 64 patients at a time. This collaboration will serve more than 1,000 families with children in the UAMS NICU each year.

The new Ronald McDonald Family Room will allow UAMS to accommodate overnight stays of older children whose siblings are patients in the NICU. Until now, only parents were able to stay in the NICU with their infants.

The new Ronald McDonald Family Room will allow UAMS to accommodate overnight stays of older children whose siblings are patients in the NICU. Until now, only parents were able to stay in the NICU with their infants.Bryan Clifton

“This new Family Room is beyond our wildest dreams,” said Peeples. “This beautiful space will help siblings feel at home and provide comfort and respite — a place to connect with other families.”

The new Family Room is staffed and operated by RMHCA and has four bedrooms with private baths, two washers and dryers, a food prep area, comfortable couches and dining tables, a play space – and a very large refrigerator.

“This is a wonderful space for all our families,” said Sartini. “We have babies who are here for several months, and that really puts a strain on parents – emotionally and financially. Having these beautiful rooms where families can stay together so close to their babies is a tremendous help.”