Radboudumc and the Ronald McDonald House in Nijmegen are developing a new Ronald McDonald Living Room at the Radboudumc Amalia Childrens Hospital. In the Living Room, parents and their sick children can relax and unwind in a cosy domestic environment, giving them a break from the medical environment. This remarkably designed Living Room is the work of EGM.
“Reorganizing the patient rooms at the Amalia Childrens Hospital will create space for this new Ronald McDonald Living Room,” explains Erny Frowijn, general manager of the Ronald McDonald House and Living Room in Nijmegen. “The unique design of the Living Room is spacious, with a cheerful play corner, cosy seating areas, and a pantry where you can heat food. Volunteers who offer a listening ear are also on hand.”
Chairman Cees Noordam of the Amalia Childrens Hospital: “We’re going to rearrange the hospital to make it even more child- and family-focused, and a new Ronald McDonald Living Room is part of that effort. It allows parents to be close to their children and, at the same time, to relax and unwind in comfortable new surroundings.”
In the Living Rooms at the Amalia Childrens Hospital, families can take a break in a domestic setting. Sick children can forget about their sickness for a while. Families can stay in the Living Rooms while their child is in hospital or during outpatient visits and examinations. There they can eat food, read the paper or play a game. Just like at home. The rooms are open 24 hours a day.
We’re going to rearrange the hospital to make it even more child- and family-focused, and a new Ronald McDonald Living Room is part of that effort.
Cees Noordam, Chairman of the Amalia Childrens Hospital
The distinctive form and layout reflect the theme ‘Theatre of Nature’ at the Amalia Children’s Hospital. Suspended like ‘floating pebbles’ between two floors, the new Living Room combines openness and privacy while fostering a sense of securing and warmth.
The entrance to the cocoon-like room will be located on the second floor of the Amalia Childrens Hospital. “At present, children’s rooms are scattered across a number of floors, but the new arrangement means that most children’s beds will be located on the second floor. The entrance to the new room is right next to them,” adds Frowijn.
Radboudumc will soon start exploratory discussions with construction partners for the new Living Room. Depending on the progress of these discussions, the Living Room will open its doors in late 2020.
Images are an artist impression of the planned Living Room