Bonneville teachers support Ronald McDonald families
by June 9, 2011 8:23 am 92 views
A group of teachers from Bonneville Elementary School in Fort Smith deliver two big meals a month to families staying at the Ronald McDonald Family Room at St. Edward’s Mercy Medical Center.
The recently completed family room is a 2,475-square-foot space within St. Edward Mercy built to briefly house parents with infants in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) of St. Edward Mercy Medical Center. Renovation costs were estimated at $150,000.
St. Edward’s NICU is the only level three center in the area, meaning it covers 13 counties in a two-state area. When the NICU was created in 2007, neonatologist Dr. Victor Coloso wanted to provide a place for families of newborns to have a place to stay while their children are hospitalized.
Involvement with Bonneville began when 4th grade teacher Maureen Austin learned about the opening of the Ronald McDonald Family Room. She contacted the coordinator and was informed about the meal delivery program, which allows organizations or groups to provide home cooked meals for parents of children staying in the NICU or Peds unit.
Bonneville faculty provided their first meals in December during the opening night of the family suite. The teachers are now divided into two groups so the Bonneville staff can provide two meals per month. Teachers sign up for different dishes to include with the meal and one of them delivers the food after school.
“Teachers have extremely giving hearts and this is just an extension of the connection we feel to our community,” said Austin. “You never know, the NICU babies may be future students of ours.”
According to a statement from St. Edward, the room is designed to provide a “comforting place for parents of infants in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit to rest and relax during the day while a child is in admittance to the Medical Center.”
The area has four sleeping rooms for parents who live more than 30 miles from the hospital. All services will be at no cost to families with children admitted to the hospital.
