10 hours ago
Barrie's McHappy Day raises almost $77K for RVH's tiniest patients and their families
Thanks to local McDonald's owners and staff, more than $38,000 from McHappy Day is helping RVH build a modern, family-centred NICU for newborns.
Oh what a difference we made in the lives of our most vulnerable on McHappy Day.
Barrie residents helped raise $76,847 to support Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre's (RVH) Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) and Ronald McDonald House in Toronto.
More than $38,000 of those funds will help RVH build a state-of-the-art intensive care unit for babies, which will have enough space for families to bond with their little ones during those crucial first days.
Currently, RVH's NICU is in an open-concept space where families are just separated by curtains and small space dividers.
In a statement from the hospital's foundation, they note, 'There's little room for parents to rest, and be active participants in their baby's care, and little space for the advanced equipment that fragile newborns rely on.'
'Parents in our NICU are doing everything they can to be there for their newborns but they're doing it in a space that's stretched beyond its limits,' said Mary-Anne Frith, incoming chairperson of RVH Foundation's Board of Directors and chairperson of the Keep Life Wild campaign.
'A new NICU changes that—giving families the privacy and space to bond without barriers. That kind of space isn't just a luxury. It's part of how babies heal.'
Money raised also supports Ronald McDonald House in Toronto, which is available if local families need to head off to SickKids.
