By JILL GUEST
Ronald McDonald greeted children and adults at Utah Valley Regional Medical Center in the opening celebration of the Ronald McDonald Parent Room Wednesday.
This room was designed for parents with children in the newborn intensive care nursery. The Parent to Parent organization introduced the idea of constructing a room for parents that would allow them to deal with their feelings and difficulties in a private and comforting way — a sort of “safe haven.”
“There is such a great need. It is the most critical time of life. It is vital that a person feels comfort and has a place to go for information and to share feelings and gain support. Parents can pull down the bed or recline a chair and still be near their child in case of an emergency,” said Dennis and Janet Hall, owners and operators of the Provo Ronald McDonald’s room.
The Hall’s initial interest in the room stemmed from their own experience concerning their son’s premature birth nine years ago. Because of their memories and gratitude, they were instrumental in obtaining the $15,000 grant from the Ronald McDonald Children’s Charities of the Intermountain Area.
The grant funded and equipped the room with items that would be helpful to parents including a sleeper sofa, glider rocker, wall decorations and cabinets. A computer, printer, fax machine, microwave, refrigerator, TV, VCR, video recorder, tape recorder and a library of educational materials, directed to the parents of intensive care infants, are also available for parents and loved ones.
The Design Group of Provo donated time, talent, money and effort to the interior design of the parent room to accommodate the wishes of the parents and reconstruct it into a multi-purpose facility.
“It is an unusual experience for people. They think they will have a Gerber baby, that nothing will go wrong. When a child is born and there are complications, parents experience several feelings, including guilt and anger. Our long-term goal is to foster empowerment for parents, to take care of their babies and offer the availability of comfort to them,” said Dr. Stephen Minton, a neu-perinatalogist and director of newborn services at UVRMC.
Having a place that is comfortable and still accessible to their baby will grant a sense of empowerment, Minton said.
Michele Doman, director of fundraising for Parent to Parent of Utah County, spent the first four months of her daughter’s intensive care experience not in a room, but in a hospital closet, where she would sleep.
“One of our goals is to make a room, not a closet,” Doman said. “We are giving back in a way we never thought was possible. Out of the smallest things come miracles.”
Parent to Parent is a support organization for parents who have had an unexpected pregnancy outcome. It is run by volunteer parents who have had similar experiences. Without their help, the parent room wouldn’t exist, Minton said.
“This is the classic example of parents recognizing the need and accomplishing it. Parents are taking the initiative,” Minton said.
UVRMC is also working on a family guest house for patients suffering from several aliments, like cancer or a stroke. The house will offer an economical residence for the patients. The ground breaking for the new house will be in the fall.
“$1.2 million out of $1.6 million has been raised, so completion of the project is not far off,” said Bonnie Pence, associate director of the Central Utah Health Foundation.
