Per Your Request, Here Are Some Key Facts About the Immune Suppressed Patient Wing
MEDIA CONTACTS:
Carrie A. Bowden, Atlanta Ronald McDonald House Charities
(678) 704-8085or (404) 822-3704
Stephen M. Brown, Manning Selvage & Lee
(404) 870-6857 or (404) 277-3467
Kristal McKanders, Manning Selvage & Lee
(404) 870-6834
ATLANTA’S NEW RONALD McDONALD HOUSE
WILL OPEN TO FAMILIES IN JUNE 2008
50-bedroom facility features sustainable design,
state-of-the-art immune suppressed patient wing
ATLANTA, April 22, 2008–A new$15million flagship Atlanta-based Ronald McDonald House® will officially open its doors to families on June 9, 2008. The 60,871 square-foot facilitylocated at 795 Gatewood Road near Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta at Egleston will provide temporary housing and emotional support to the families of ill and injured children. The Housecontains 50 bedrooms and some of the most innovative features in the world for a facility of its type.
One of the most distinctive components of the House is the Carlos and Marguerite MasonTransplant Wing for children who have received heart, liver, kidney and bone marrow or transplants. This wing, comprised of 10 two-bedroom suites (931 sq ft), is separated from the other 40 guest rooms in order to protect these children from exposure to infections. Families residing in the immune suppressed area enter the House through a separate elevator and have a private access check-in area as well as other support areas. Prior to the building of this facility, children with these conditions could not stay at any of the Atlanta Ronald McDonald Houses because they were not equipped to provide special isolation rooms and suites.
The Board of Directors of Atlanta Ronald McDonald House Charities (ARMHC) began planning for the Gatewood Road facility in early 2004. On September 1, 2005, the organization’s leadership launched a capital campaign with a goal of $15.7 million. The community has been very generous as contributions have totaled more than $16.1 million.
“We are very thankful to the board of Directors, staff and all of the gracious donors and volunteers,” said Linda Morris, ARMHC Executive Director. “This community really dreamed big in imagining a facility that will meet all the modern needs of families coping with sick children. We trust it will be a haven for healing for those who will visit and volunteer with us for years to come.”
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With input from architects Gary B. Coursey & Associates, general contractor Brasfield & Gorrieand LEED consultants Smith Dalia Architects, ARMHC also designed the House to be environmentally friendly. The structure is currently LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environment Design) registered and seeking LEED certification. LEED certificationgives an independent, third-party verification that a building project is environmentally responsible and a healthy place for residents to live and staff to work. If certified, the Gatewood Road House will be the second Ronald McDonald House in the world to receive LEED certification.
The facility includes common family and support areas, a family kitchen and dining room, a family conference and teaching room, a family library and business center with computers, an arts and crafts/activity room and a family laundry facility. Administrative office suites are also located at the facility along with a community room that will be open to community organizations.
Along with its state-of-the-art amenities, the facility has increased capacity to serve patients being treated at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta at Egleston by more than 300 percent. Prior to this new facility, the two Ronald McDonald House programsin Atlanta had a combined total of 27 bedroomsand neither of the Houses had the current capacity to serve the growing needs of Children’s --- one of the nation’s leading healthcare systems for programs in childhood cancer, blood disorders, cardiology and solid organ transplant services for infants, children and adolescents.
“Forty percent of patients hospitalized at our facilities live outside a 25-mile radius of the hospital,” explained Jay Berkelhamer, M.D., Chief Academic Officerof Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta and ARMHC Board member. “With the completion of theRonald McDonald House at Gatewood, these patients and their families will have a safe, comfortableplace to stay while they receive treatment.”
Among the top donors werethe Greater Atlanta McDonald’s Operators Association,the Robert W. Woodruff Foundation,The Kresge Foundation in the form of a $650,000 challenge grant and The Coca-Cola Company.
To learn more about the growing needs of Atlanta Ronald McDonald House Charities and ways to contribute call 404-315-1133 or visit ARMHC
Atlanta Ronald McDonald House Charities, Inc. is a non-profit organization which creates, finds and supports programs that directly improve the health and well-being of children. Atlanta’s first Ronald McDonald House, the fourth in the world, located at 792 Houston Mill Roadfeatures 16 bedrooms and has hosted more than 24,000 families since opening in 1979. This facility will close May 1as the new Gatewood facility opens less than a mile away. In June of 1994, the second house opened at 5420 Peachtree Dunwoody Road which includes 11 bedrooms and has hosted more than 8,000 families.
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At the Ronald McDonald House, families can enjoy many of the comforts of home, receive nutritious meals prepared and served by volunteers and obtain emotional
support through contact with other families experiencing similar situations. No family is turned away if they cannot afford the small $20 requested contribution and many of these families stay at the Ronald McDonald House for weeks, and sometimes months, while their children receive treatment at local children’s hospitals.
NOTE: Media will have an opportunity to tour the new facility on June 5, 2008, prior to its official opening. For details, please get in touch with media contacts.
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