Hays High DECA Students Honored for Work Done for Ronald McDonald House Charities

Three Hays High DECA students will be honored for their contributions to the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Wichita on Friday, March 28th at 12:15 p.m. at Hays High School, Room 100. The reason for honoring these students is due to their findings and recommendations for a Ronald McDonald House Family Room at Hays Medical Center.  Susan Smythe, Executive Director of the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Wichita, will be on hand to recognize the students for their efforts.

Jason Ball, Austin Klaus, and Justin Klaus served as social change agents for the community of Hays and Hays Medical Center. These young men conducted a community survey earlier this year to determine the need for a Family Room at HMC. The findings supported the need for such a facility within Hays Medical Center.  According the Smythe, “Family Rooms will become a trend that will take place in the future.  Almost every large city has a Ronald McDonald House, and now rural communities are taking action and placing Family Rooms inside their hospitals.”  The students then developed recommendations and an action plan to begin the creation of the Family Room at Hays Medical Center.

The Ronald McDonald Family Room extends the comfort of a Ronald McDonald House to a hospital setting. Typically located just steps from neonatal and pediatric intensive care units, the Family Room provides a place to escape the stress and tension of the hospital. Families of critically ill children can use the Ronald McDonald Family Room to rest, take showers, grab a bite to eat and even do laundry. The first Ronald McDonald Family Room opened in 1992. Today, there are more than 100 Family Rooms in 11 countries: Australia, Guatemala, Netherlands, New Zealand, Russia, Switzerland, Taiwan, Turkey, the United Kingdom, Japan and the United States.

The plan for the Family Room at Hays Medical Center has been presented to and accepted by the Ronald McDonald Houses of Wichita and is awaiting approval from  Ronald McDonald House Charities Global. 
For more information, please contact Shaina Prough, Hays High DECA Advisor, at 625-5274, 623-2600, or sprough@usd489.com.