TAYLORSVILLE, Utah (KUTV) — The new pediatric behavioral health hospital is open for business.
It’s a new facility under the Primary Children’s Hospital umbrella.
There is also something special inside the building — a space for families to stay together and support each other as kids and teens get treatment for mental health and behavioral health problems. It’s called the “Ronald McDonald House Family Room.”
MORE | Pay It Forward
Carrie Romano, the executive director of “Ronald McDonald House of Charities of the West,” said, “This Ronald McDonald house program is the only one of its kind located inside a free-standing pediatric behavioral health hospital. We know that mental health is a critical crisis in terms the well-being for our kids locally, and we are so excited this community is investing in family-centered care and behavioral health care for our kids.”
Kathleen, whose daughter is being treated here for an anxiety disorder, agrees. She says the Family Room is much more than a room: it’s like a beautiful hotel — a safe space for families to stay long-term to help their children in a mental health crisis.
“We know there are so many kids and young adults who suffer, and to have this beautiful family room space, I can’t even express how amazing this is,” Kathleen said. “Your children are getting taken care of, they are safe … so you can also take care of yourself because being a caregiver for a struggling child can be exhausting.”
There are a number of rooms with different bed configurations. There is a coffee bar for parents, a fully stocked refrigerator, and a kitchen with snacks and drinks for the kids and teens who get counseling here.
There is reading material to help pass the time, not to mention puzzles and games for younger family members.
“We can all stay together, and we can tackle the healing process as a team,” Kathleen said. “No one should be alone when you are trying to get help for these challenges.”
Everything in the family room wing runs on donations from the company and the many families who use the facility.
Katie Ann Powell with Mountain America Credit Union made a surprise visit to help “Pay It Forward.”
“This is like a home, and you are creating a home feeling for the people who are in crisis, from the caregivers to the families,” Powell said. “When you walk in here, you feel the love immediately, and we want to pay it forward because you are paying it forward. On behalf of Mountain America Credit Union and KUTV, please continue this great work.”
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