Oct 30 2019

If it is difficult to treat a child suffering from an intractable disease at a local hospital, the family is forced to face the economic burden of a dual life between home and hospital as well as the mental pain of a family living apart from each other. If a family accompanies a hospitalized child, the child's healing power increases. The present situation, however, is that there are no places for families to stay in faraway hospitals.

Niigata University Medical and Dental Hospital applied to the Ronald McDonald House Charities Japan, a public interest incorporated foundation, for the construction of Ronald McDonald House Niigata, the first pediatric care accommodation facility on the Sea of Japan. Finally, it was decided to be constructed as the 12th house in Japan and is scheduled to be built in Niigata in April 2022. The location will be on the premises of the university hospital so that people can use the facility for their entire stay in Niigata.

However, funding for the construction is still insufficient. In order to realize this project, the fund will be raised by volunteer promoters from the government and industry in addition to Niigata University. The kick-off ceremony and the first fund-raising committee meeting were held at Niigata University Yujin Memorial Hall on Sunday, October 13.

Ronald McDonald House is an accommodation facility for families with a child suffering from an intractable disease to use at a low-cost. This reduces the economic and mental burden of the families. The facility is the first of its kind on the Sea of Japan planned together with Ronald McDonald House Charities Japan.

President Takahashi, who greeted at the kick-off ceremony made a powerful statement, saying, "We want to build a house as soon as possible and reduce the burden on families with hospitalized children as much as possible. In order to realize this, we have to reach our target amount for construction."

At the first fund-raising committee meeting following the ceremony, promoters inside and outside Niigata University such as Niigata Prefecture, Niigata City, chairpersons of the prefectural health care organization groups, representatives of companies in Niigata Prefecture and relevant parties of Niigata University who shared the need for Ronald McDonald House Niigata at the kick-off ceremony made ambitious statements about the fund-raising for the construction.