The new Kinsmen Care by Patient Suite was unveiled last week at the Red Deer Regional Hospital.
Three new rooms and an apartment style shared space have been developed and are ready for parents to make themselves comfortable.
“Nurses are helping mom to get through transitioning the baby between hospital and home. If your child has a special need, it’s very, very scary to go home,” said Cynthia de Boer, project officer for the Red Deer Regional Health Foundation.
“It keeps the baby with mom and dad, and helps make the transition between hospital and home more comfortable and safe.”
The Kinsmen Club of Red Deer granted the hospital a total of $340,000 over the last three years which went to funding items such as new beds, upgraded furnishings, renovations, bassinettes, a teen lounge and an Oilers room. Those funds also went to cardiac monitors, incubators, overhead heaters and fetal monitors.
“It’s absolutely awesome to see something like this come together. To give back to the community and see something like this come together is just amazing,” said Ryan Philip, current director of the Kinsmen Club Association.
The three bright rooms include brand new beds, reclining chairs that fold into futons, murals of Kinsmen Red Deer projects and even medical supplies so that babies can stay in those rooms.
“Basically, we have three private suites which allow the parents to come and stay with their children. They have the privacy, and each suite is set up so that depending on the situation, the child can receive medical attention individually, in the suite and they aren’t moved around. They don’t have to worry about being uprooted,” said Rob Kellough, director of Red Deer Regional Health Centre.
Allison Hicks, head nurse at the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) of Red Deer Regional Hospital, said, “Now with the three rooms, we can allow the dads and the babies back here. It also helps, as our NICU is constantly full. This will really help with overflow to help the babies and parents back here.”
The significance of having a functioning paediatrics unit is imperative in running a hospital smoothly. The NICU is often times very busy, and having the separate rooms allows parents to relax and be more comfortable throughout their stay, officials said.
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