Designed and operated like a home, Ryan House will not be a typical home but rather a pediatric health care resource that provides quality palliative care as well as appropriate therapies and activities in a supportive home-like setting.
Children’s Bedrooms
Ryan House will have 8 bedrooms designed to meet the needs of children who will stay there. These bedrooms will contain the required medical equipment yet have the appeal of a child’s room at home. Parents will find a comfortable over-stuffed chair or a rocking chair for their use as well as a place to sleep if they wish. Each bedroom will have direct access to the landscaped garden area.
Specially Designed Bathing Room
Most of the children staying at Ryan House will need assistance bathing. Ryan House will have the necessary lifts, bathing beds and showers to ensure good hygiene, safety and privacy.
Family Bedrooms
Appreciating that families know their children best, and how hard it can be to let someone else take over for a while, Ryan House staff must be knowledgeable about each child and the specific care provided by the parents. To accommodate this need, there will be 3 family suites at Ryan House where families will be encouraged to stay during the first visit and will always be welcome. Family suites will help ensure that care and treatment is always family-centered.
Great Room
Using the great-room concept, the family room will have many inviting areas for individuals, families or small groups. This large, attractive room will have a library, reading corners, computers, video games, TV and cozy furniture groupings. The area will be bathed in light with many views and access into the garden, play areas, and the outdoor patio.
Art/Activity Room
Designed for different age groups with multiple activities available, it is quite probable that the door may often be closed due to the level of activity! However, when the door opens one may see a painting in progress, a puzzle partially completed, a trunk overflowing with “dress-up” items, a train set, foosball table and lots of other interesting opportunities for fun and learning for the children and their siblings. It will be a favorite of the parents as well!
Sensory Room
This room will not be one that would be found in a typical home; it will be a special room designed to help children express themselves - to help them respond. The room will be small in size but large in the capacity to reach children in a variety of ways. Because it will be sound proof, one can bang on drums or perhaps just let off steam. It will be a room filled with lights, sounds, colors and different textures used to stimulate a child’s senses.
Hydrotherapy Room
Both the children and their families will enjoy using this room. Hydrotherapy helps people relax, improves sleep, provides pain relief and improves circulation. This “spa” may be a wonderful way for a family to enjoy each other’s company.
Music Room
Filled with different instruments and a variety of audio/visual equipment, this room will be used for music therapy and just plain fun for the entire family.
Reflection Room and Memorial Garden
These quiet, non-denominational areas will be a comforting place for families, friends, caregivers and all others to spend time alone or with others coping with similar challenges. It will provide areas to reflect, share, mediate, pray, plan or perhaps just a place “to be” at a particular time.
Board Room
The board room within the administrative area will be used by different groups and for many purposes including family support groups, education/training, Board meetings, special event planning, meeting room for other complementary non-profits and for Ryan House volunteers.
Landscaped Patios, Playground and Barbeque Area
Children and their families will be able to enjoy the landscaped outdoor areas whether they are inside looking out, or outside in the yard relaxing and playing. An accessible playground will be the center of the patio area.
Orcutt Winslow Partnership and Kitchell Contractors, both award-winning firms in the field of design and construction of healthcare facilities, have each assigned dedicated professionals to design and build Ryan House. Once Ryan House is successfully up and operating, the board of directors will demonstrate its effectiveness as a “model” to be used in other communities throughout the United States. With a “road map,” perhaps in the future there will be multiple facilities throughout the United States, as there are now in England.