Mackay Ronald McDonald Family Room plans revealed

A Ronald McDonald Family Room will support hundreds of Mackay Whitsunday Isaac families as sick children receive treatment. See the plans for the first time.

Beaconsfield mum Samantha with her son Lucas Baker who was diagnosed with viral meningitis 10 days after he was born. Samantha is supporting Ronald McDonald House Charities North Australia’s plans fora a new Family Room in Mackay. Picture: Contributed

Extra help is coming for sick children and their families with plans released for a new Ronald McDonald Family Room in Mackay.

Ronald McDonald House Charities North Australia CEO Tamara South said the room was specially designed to help make hospital stays easier for Mackay, Whitsunday and Isaac region families.

“(It) will provide a homelike space near the Children and Adolescent Unit at the Mackay Base Hospital,” Ms South said.

“It will have all the comforts of home including a kitchen, laundry, lounge room, nap rooms and lots of room to relax and play.

“There is only one other Ronald McDonald Family Room in North Queensland, located at the Townsville Hospital, which welcomes between 300 and 400 families each month.”

Ms South said the charity supported more than 300 Mackay region families in 2020 through its five practical care programs including via Townsville’s Ronald McDonald House and Family Room.

One such family was the Bakers whose six-week-old son Lucas was twice resuscitated after he stopped breathing from viral meningitis.

Mum Samantha Baker said the Townsville Family Room was a sanity saver during Lucas’s high-risk surgery and subsequent appointments.

Beaconsfield baby Lucas Baker did not just surprise his parents by arriving six weeks early – the biggest shock came 10 days later when he was diagnosed with viral meningitis. Picture: Contributed

“The charity is looking forward to being able to support so many more Mackay families with the Ronald McDonald Family Room in Mackay,” Ms South said.

“We know from research that free services provided by Ronald McDonald Family Rooms can save families of hospitalised children on average of $37 a day.”

All profits from the sale of the Daily Mercury newspaper on Friday, August 27 will go towards the Mackay Ronald McDonald Family Room.