Family room planned for University of Iowa Children’s Hospital

A new service at the University of Iowa Children's Hospital will give parents a way to take a shower or grab a nap while remaining steps away from their child's bedside.

Ronald McDonald House Charities of Eastern Iowa and Western Illinois announced plans Wednesday to open a Ronald McDonald Family Room at the new children's hospital. It will include a sleep room, three shower suites, a parent respite room and lounge for families with a sick child being treated in the hospital.

The family room also will have a kitchenette and dining area as well as a living room with a television and computers. It is scheduled to open in December 2016.

Construction costs for the 1,500-square-foot room, which will be in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, were built into the new $360 million children's hospital. The hospital is scheduled to be complete in fall 2016.

Kristen Tobert, marketing director at Ronald McDonald House Charities, said the not-for-profit will be responsible for annual operational costs, including employees, food, linens and other expenses.

'This is very exciting for us,” Tobert said. 'We've had the house in Iowa City and are very connected to the community. But in order to stay at the house you have to live at least 20 miles away. There's a whole population we can now serve - local people.”

Having a child in the hospital is difficult for anyone, no matter how close they live to the hospital, she added, and it can be difficult for parents to get away to shower or rest their eyes.

The family room will offer a meal program, book and game cart, coffee hour, and other snacks. It will be open 24 hours and be staffed from 7:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. each day, according to the organization.

Tobert said Ronald McDonald House Charities doesn't have projections yet on the number of families expected to use the service annually.

But in January, the organization and UnityPoint Health-St. Luke's Hospital opened a 1,200-square-foot family room on the second floor of the Helen G. Nassif Center for Women's and Children's Health that is expected to help about 1,500 families each year.

'There are still some unknowns,” Tobert said. 'But we're excited to serve more families.”