FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Tony Wilk, Public Relations Assistant

573-555-5555
wilkt@RMHC.org

Ronald McDonald House to Open Family Room at MU Women and Children’s

Hospital

COLUMBIA, Mo. (September 15, 2015) – Ronald McDonald House Charities of Mid-

Missouri will host a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Ronald McDonald Family Room at

the MU Women and Children’s Hospital prior to its opening on Sept. 28. The ribbon

cutting will be Sept. 24 at 10 a.m. at the Family Room.

The 2,000-square-foot room will be located on the second floor of the hospital

near the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. The Family Room will provide the families of

pediatric patients some of the conveniences of home, such as a kitchen, showers, laundry

and beds, while remaining at the hospital near their child.

“Many of our patients at Children’s Hospital come from all over the state, which

means a lot of our parents are far away from the conveniences of home,” said Keri

Simon, Executive Director of MU Women’s and Children’s Hospital.

Women’s and Children’s Hospital was chosen as the location for the Family

Room because it is the largest children’s hospital in mid-Missouri and is close to

Columbia’s Ronald McDonald House at 3501 E. Lansing. It will be the fifth Family

Room in Missouri, joining three in St. Louis and one in Kansas City.

The Family Room is the result of a $1 million donation to the Ronald McDonald

House of Mid-Missouri from an anonymous donor two years ago.

“We are so grateful for the generosity of our donor. The gift has helped bring this

(more)
Family Room to Children’s Hospital so parents can have a piece of home that’s only

steps away from their children,” said Mike Ireland, President of Ronald McDonald House

Charities of Mid-Missouri.

Like other Ronald McDonald Houses and Family Rooms across the country, the

Family Room at Women’s and Children’s Hospital will be funded by donations to the

local chapter of Ronald McDonald House Charities. Volunteers will be integral to the

upkeep of the room and will assist the occupying families.

For more information, please contact Tony Wilk at 573-555-5555 or wilkt@rmhc.org.

-30-