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Ronald McDonald Playroom



Free drop in space is available during visits in the on-site Ronald McDonald Playroom. The playroom is a "fun zone" for children to play and relax.

It provides families with:

  • A supervised place to leave their children while they consult with doctors and therapists privately
  • A chance to research information in the Grocery Foundation Resource Centre
  • The opportunity to take a much needed coffee break before or after an appointment

Who can use the playroom?

The playroom is open to outpatients, day patients and siblings if they:

Guidelines

Families will be required to come in and answer some questions about whether their child/youth has any physical, behavioural and/or medical support needs. We recommend families come 10 minutes early for their first visit to complete this process.

  • All children must be in good health while in the playroom. This means a minimum of 48-hours free of any flu-like symptoms before accessing the room. Staff are required to turn away children who are presenting with symptoms.
  • Youth cannot leave the playroom for any reason, unless accompanied by a caregiver.
  • For children under 30 months of age, accompanying caregivers are responsible for all supervision and support. Playroom staff are unable to provide support, intervention or redirection.
  • Caregivers must remain on hospital property while their child/youth is in the playroom.
  • When leaving the playroom, caregivers will be given a playroom cell phone and must keep it where they can see and hear it, at all times. They will only be contacted if they are urgently needed and are required to return to the playroom immediately if the phone goes off.
  • Because the playroom is not equipped with washrooms, caregivers are responsible for their child’s washroom breaks. Children will be asked to use the washroom before entering the playroom.
  • For health and safety reasons, caregivers are responsible for their child’s food breaks. Children are not allowed to eat or drink while in the playroom.
  • In an effort to keep children in the playroom safe, caregivers must notify playroom staff of their child’s emergency medical conditions (e.g. allergies, asthma, seizures) and leave emergency medication (e.g. EpiPen or inhaler) in the playroom with their child.
  • Children who require suctioning must have a caregiver in the room. Playroom staff are unable to provide respiratory support.
  • The playroom staff are unable to provide continuous/ongoing 1-on-1 shadow support for any of the children in the room, and families will be asked to return if that level of support is deemed necessary.
  • Due to the drop-in nature of our service, the maximum capacity of the room will change, based on the combined needs of the children in the room at any given time.
  • If the playroom reaches maximum capacity, families wanting to access the room will be put on a wait list and contacted if space becomes available.
  • Once the maximum capacity of the playroom has been reached and there are families waiting to access the space, a 90 minute cap will be applied to the children in the room.
  • Regardless of capacity, caregivers will be asked to check in with the playroom every 90 minutes.

 

Things to do

 

Hours of operation and contact

Family feedback about the playroom

 

Ronald McDonald House Charities