British ColumbiaFamilies traveling to receive medical care in northern B.C. now have a new option for support, with the opening of a Ronald McDonald House family room in Prince George. The charity will provide free stays for families of children in the hospital, and will serve some of the most rural communities in B.C.Free rooms will support families in some of B.C.’s most rural locationsListen to this articleEstimated 3 minutesThe audio version of this article is generated by text-to-speech, a technology based on artificial intelligence.The Ronald McDonald House family room is located in the University of Northern B.C. in Prince George, in its pediatric ward. It is the fourth location for the charity in the province. (Hanna Petersen/CBC)Families traveling to receive medical care in northern B.C. now have a new option for support, with the opening of a Ronald McDonald House family room in Prince George.The charity provides affordable accommodation for families when their children are hospitalized outside of their home community. The Prince George location — offering three sleep rooms plus kitchenette, laundry and other services — is located just steps from the the pediatric unit in the University Hospital of Northern B.C.The hospital provides services to families hundreds of kilometres away, stretching from Prince Rupert to Fort St. John.The sleep rooms will be referral-based and offered free of charge, while the other services such as food, showers and laundry will be free and open to any family with a child up to 18 years of age in the hospital from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m daily.One of three sleep rooms at the Ronald McDonald House accommodation in Prince George, B.C. (Hanna Petersen/CBC)B.C. and Yukon Ronald McDonald House CEO Richard Pass says he expects the units to welcome hundreds of families annually and fill a key gap in service for a hospital that serves some of B.C.’s most rural communities. “So many families are coming to the hospital here in Prince George, and if you’re not from town, then where are you staying?” he said.The charity noted approximately 25 per cent of the people already accessing Ronald McDonald House services in B.C. and Yukon come from the northern B.C. region.The Prince George location is just the fourth Ronald McDonald House in the province, with others in Vancouver, Surrey and Kamloops. A second Vancouver location is planned to meet what the organization characterizes as “skyrocketing” demand.Among those attending the opening of the Prince George location Thursday was Dave Horton, a father who stayed in Ronald McDonald House in Vancouver while his son received spinal surgery.”A lot of families were there on unplanned crisis, and absolutely having the worst days of their life,” he said of his time there. “Knowing that there was supports for them … meals, laundry … it’s a huge deal knowing what we saw there, knowing that that is expanding to Prince George.”The location was opened with the support of Northern Health and is paid for fully through private fundraising — which came through Ronald McDonald House, the Spirt of the North Healthcare Foundation and local McDonald’s restaurants, among others.
4th Ronald McDonald House location in B.C. opens at Prince George hospital
