St. JOSEPH HEALTH CELEBRATES OPENING OF NEW FAMILY ROOM

March 4, 2016 – St. Joseph Health Regional Hospital and Ronald McDonald House Charities of Central Texas celebrated the opening of thenew Ronald McDonald Family Room® with an

new facility. This is the first Family Room to open in the Brazos Valley. Ronald McDonald Family Rooms are comforting havens located inside the hospitals. The room is conveniently located near the neonatal intensive care unit and the pediatric unit at St. Joseph Health Regional Hospital. Ronald McDonald Family Rooms offer families a nurturing place to rest and regroup while staying close to their hospitalized children. The room is officially schedule to open for families of patients on Monday, March 21. The partnership started almost one year ago, when Ronald McDonald House Charities of Central Texas and St. Joseph Health answered a need for the community. “For a family dealing with the illness of a child, there is nothing more frightening than having your child admitted into the hospital. The experience can be a stressful and emotional time for a family and their loved ones to deal with,” said Ricardo Diaz, COO for St. Joseph Health. “For St. Joseph Health, being able to offer this resource to patients and their families is a tremendous blessing. It makes such an impact on the children we care for and their families, helping to speed up the recovery process by having their families close.” The St. Joseph Health Ronald McDonald Family Room is the fifth Family Room to open in the past seven years for Ronald McDonald House Charities of Central Texas. The space is just under 700 square feet with a living room, kitchen/dining, two bedrooms, a large bathroom and laundry facilities. Families also have access to computers, the Internet and a children’s play area. ###  About St. Joseph Health Established in 1936, St. Joseph Health is a faith-based, not-for-profit health system committed to excellence and compassion in caring for the mind, body and spirit while creating healthier communities. St. Joseph Health is comprised of five hospital facilities across the Brazos Valley, including St. Joseph Health Regional Hospital, the region’s highest level trauma center. St. Joseph Health Medical Group operates more than a dozen primary and specialty care clinics around the region, offering expert care, closer to home. St. Joseph Health is a part of Catholic Health Initiatives (CHI), one of the nation’s largest health systems. Headquartered in Englewood, Colorado, CHI operates in 19 states and comprises more than 103 hospitals, including four academic medical centers and teaching hospitals; 24 critical-access facilities; community health services organizations; accredited nursing colleges; home health agencies; and other services that span the inpatient and outpatient continuum of care. For more information, visit chistjoseph.org.   About Ronald McDonald House Charities of Central Texas Ronald McDonald House Charities of Central Texas, a nonprofit 501 (c)(3) organization, creates, finds and supports programs that directly improve the health and well-being of children. Through its Ronald McDonald House® and Ronald McDonald Family Room programs, RMHC CTX provides a “home-away-from-home” for families that keeps them together as their critically ill or injured children receive treatment in Central Texas- hospitals. The Ronald McDonald House is a 30 guest room, nurturing home-like environment and the Ronald McDonald Family Rooms are comforting havens located within five Central Texas hospitals. For more information, visit rmhc-ctx.org, follow RMHC CTX on Twitter (@RMHCCTX), or on Facebook (Facebook.com/RMHCCTX).