Advertising Feature Local families with sick children no longer have to travel long distances on a daily basis to visit and care for their children.
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After recognising a need to provide services for families in the villages and properties surrounding Orange, the board and management of Ronald McDonald House have adjusted their criteria so those families can now access the much-needed services at the House.
Executive officer Rebecca Walsh said that many families who had children being treated at Orange Health Service, and lived between 50 and 99 kilometres from Orange, were not previously eligible under the existing guidelines to stay at the house.
"There are a high number of families who come from within that original boundaries area and we believed they were entitled to be able to stay at RMH Orange, looking at this from a holistic point of view, to lessen the burden on families," Ms Walsh said.
Under the criteria initially set up by Ronald McDonald House, only families who lived 100 kilometres or more from the Orange Health Service were eligible to stay.
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However, analysis of statistics provided by Orange Health Service indicated many families who weren't eligible were travelling long distances to and from the hospital on a daily basis.
Mothers with high risk pregnancies and premature babies who need to access the hospital several times a day can now benefit from the changes, taking a lot of pressure off those families and new mothers.
Many families who have stayed at the House since it opened have children who were patients in the Child and Adolescent Mental Health ward within the general hospital, with several staying for extended periods as their children were so unwell.
That continues to be the case, showing the house is fulfilling an important need for families.
These distance criteria changes are a welcome adjustment for the many people who access and use the facilities at Ronald McDonald House each year. The board and management of Ronald McDonald House continue to look at ways to develop the House, improve facilities and ensure families get the care they need.
