Story Published:
Nov 24, 2009 at 4:56 PM CST
Story Updated:
Nov 24, 2009 at 5:15 PM CST
SPRINGFIELD -- Ronald McDonald House of the Ozarks held a ceremonial “wall-breaking” on Tuesday for its new facility at St. John's Hospital. Members of the nonprofit group's board and others used sledgehammers to bash in the walls.
The Ronald McDonald House will provide overnight accommodations for the families of pediatric patients and high-risk maternity patients. The 10-bedroom facility will be built next to what will become the new pediatric intensive care unit.
Besides the bedrooms, the house will also feature a dining room, living room and play area that can also be used by daytime visitors.
Donations of cash and services from a number of businesses around the area are helping to make the second Ronald McDonald House in Springfield a possibility. The first one opened about 20 years ago on Kings Avenue across Primrose Street from Cox South Hospital.
