Improved family room re-opens at SickKids

Improved family room re-opens at SickKids. TDSB teacher/librarian Kathy Anderson reads with patient Hugh Maw at the officially opening of the SickKids' Family Centre on Feb. 16. Staff photo/JUSTIN SKINNER

The centre features a children's Reading Room as well as phone, Internet and fax services and information on a variety of complex pediatric conditions in the AboutKids Health Family Resource Centre.

While the centre was always a popular destination for families, the newly-completed $500,000 renovation brings the children's library and other features together in one room.

"The library and the resource centre (for parents) used to be separate, and the resource room wasn't a very child-friendly space," said Family Centre manager Sarah McBain. "It was right next door to the reading room, but parents couldn't just leave their kids in the reading room and come to the resource centre."

Now, thanks to support from the Ontario Toyota Dealers Association, the two rooms have merged. Parents will be able to receive information packages on their children's health and stay connected with friends, family and work while their kids read.

With the help of Toronto District School Board teachers / librarians assisting at the centre, the children will benefit from twice the daily story time sessions and a vast selection of books geared toward all ages.

"We weren't using the space to its full potential before, so this gives us a chance to provide better service," McBain said.

The renovations forced the family centre to close for five months, though the hospital still provided the same services, with the health information centre moving temporarily to the SickKids atrium and book carts bringing books to children.

While the Family Centre offers plenty of services, it is also well used as a place where families can simply go to relax after receiving a diagnosis.

"People come (to SickKids) not in the best of circumstances - they're under stress, under worry, they come here because their child is sick," said Jim Garner, vice-president of corporate services at SickKids. "The vision here is to have a hub, a nexus where families in need of quiet space or in need of a lot of help can come."

Kate Maw, whose five-year-old son Hugh was diagnosed with a grade three brain tumour last year, said the resource centre was an invaluable resource during their stay. She said the renovations will make it an even more important part of SickKids' mandate to provide the best possible care for patients and their families.

"We used the (health resource centre) really heavily," she said. "We had done all our reading on being parents and then (when Hugh was diagnosed) we suddenly knew nothing."

Maw said the resources on hand taught her and her husband how to be parents to Hugh given his unfortunate diagnosis. While they appreciated the information, the Reading Room made Hugh's stay that much better.

"He loves to read, so he would always want to come down here and we'd have to silence his IV pump because he would always want to stay for one more book, one more book," she said. "It helped him feel more normal and brought a smile to his face."

With the two rooms now together, Maw said it should serve families better than it did before. She added they will continue to use the centre when they come to SickKids for Hugh's follow-up treatments.

The new and improved Family Centre officially opened on the first floor of the hospital on Thursday, Feb. 16.