ICU Family Room Renovation – Sturgeon Community Hospital

The Cause

KDM Helping Hands is a local St. Albert charity that provides support to children and families through random acts of kindness, one of the core values is "If you can give back you should" and we work to bring joy where and when we can. Each year our organization gives back to the community through our monthly school lunch program, holiday hampers and our yearly Christmas for Kids event where we select a school and provide them with the magic of Christmas with a full day of fun, food, gifts and entertainment, among other smaller act of kindness. Additionally, we have had great success with the larger legacy projects (Ronald McDonald House Salon and the Medicine Unit 18 Room)

We plan to do a complete renovation and expansion of the ICU Family Room at the Sturgeon Community Hospital, which at the moment it is not much bigger than a walk-in closet. This renovation will include removing a wall to expand the room, replacing the flooring, painting the walls, and providing all-new fixtures which would include a bed to sleep on, a dining area, lighting and decor.

In the past, we renovated Medicine Unit 18 room (named the Serenity Room), where we used warm inviting colours, blues and greys, and furniture to create a space that was calm and relaxing. We soon realized that more spaces like this were needed to support the families and patients at the Sturgeon Community Hospital. We plan to call the ICU Family Room the "Tranquility Room" our goal is to create a welcoming, warm space to help families feel safe during stressful and often traumatic times.

Rooms like these are often where hearts are breaking or hope is being held onto. Providing a space that can be an oasis for families is what we want to create, often these rooms are cold and sterile and leave those in them feeling even more alone, our goal is to have this space be welcoming enough for families to share a meal, play a game or even have a few laughs while waiting for their loved one to gain the strength needed to come home.

Who Will it Benefit?

The Tranquility Room will be a space for families, friends and even patients who are in the ICU to benefit, the room will be for short-term and longer-term use. We look forward to providing this space as an escape from the hospital stresses all while being close to loved ones. Families will be able to sleep, relax and eat in this room.