Kitchen, living room … This is the pioneering space of the Vall d’Hebron Children’s Hospital for families: “It’s an emotional refuge”

The Ronald McDonald Family Room From the Vall d’Hebron Children’s Hospital, which turns five, has become an essential refuge for families with hospitalized children. Since its opening in 2019, more than 2,500 They have found in this space – which has almost all the rooms and comforts of a house – a place to rest, disconnect and face better the hard moments that the hospitalization of a minor entails. “Our experience seems inconceivable to me without the room, it is an emotional refuge,” explains Mar, who is the mother of a premature child and spent a month admitted with his partner and his son. For his part, Paola, with a daughter who was diagnosed with a brain tumor at two years, says: “He has given us the opportunity to be in a warm environment, where We feel wrapped by other families. “

Located on the ground floor of the hospital, this room 350 square meters It is the largest in Europe of this type and the second to open in Spain, after that of La Paz hospital in Madrid. Unlike others, which are focused on neonatology, this hosts families from all pediatric areasmany of them from different autonomous communities and even abroad, since in the Vall d’Hebron complex pathologies are treated that cannot be addressed in other centers. 35% of the families attended come from the neonate service, 19% of the pediatric ICU and the rest of children’s hospitalization.

A home inside the hospital

The Ronald McDonald family hall is designed to be a comfort space in the middle of the hospital environment. It has A fully equipped kitchen With fridge, microwave, coffee maker, air fryer and sandwichera, where parents can prepare their own meals and feel a little more at home. It also has a dining room with tables and chairs that allows you to share a moment of tranquility.

For those who need to rest, there are two sofas roomsideal to relax, read or talk with other families that are going through similar situations. There is also a Children’s Games Areathought especially for patient brothers, who often must spend long hours in the hospital.

Many families have to continue working during the hospitalization of their children, so the room has a Space with computers so that those who need it can continue with their work tasks. In addition, there are A rest space with dim lightingseparate compartments and individual armchairs, designed for those who need to process difficult news or simply disconnect for a few minutes.

For more comfort, there are Bathrooms with showersa Breastfeeding room destined for mothers who need a quiet place to breastfeed their babies and ticket offices personal so that users can save their belongings for sure.

Break with the cold aesthetics of a hospital through decoration, atmosphere, and even smells. It seeks to give a feeling of home to all those who visit it frequently and for this, the Foundation takes care of details such as the fact that Not between health personnel with robe or to cook Pakes often to get a homemade aroma.

Since its inauguration, the Chamber has been managed by the Ronald McDonald Foundationin collaboration with the Vall d’Hebron hospital, which gives the space. Its operation is possible thanks to a small team of professionals and a group of volunteers who guarantee their opening every day of the year, From 9 in the morning to 9 pm at night. Access is regulated by the hospital and is granted to families according to their needs.

Anna Gairaral

The support of families, key in their success

For those who have had to spend long periods in the hospital, the Ronald McDonald family hall has been a fundamental support point. Paola VindelMother of Dana Alexandra Merlo, remembers what this space meant for her family after the hospitalization of her daughter for a brain tumor at two years.

“Since we arrived here in 2021, this room has been a place where we really felt welcomed,” he says, and says that the possibility of sharing a common space with other families has been key to cope with difficult times. “Here we not only find a site to rest and relax, but we also met Other people who were going through the same. In the shared kitchen, links are created, and the simple fact of having a coffee or reading a book helped us to disconnect a bit of everything that happened in the hospital, ”he adds.

For his part, Mar, mother of a premature child, explains that having this room was a huge emotional relief. Both she and Lucas, Pere’s father, gave great recognition to the room staff, who always received them “with a smile from ear to ear” and worried about everything. Mar states that it was like “To be able to have a small piece of house in the hospital, And this is not paid with money. “

Like Mar and Paola, many other families have found in the room a place to breathe and face more force The difficult experience of hospitalization of a child.