FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Kurt Knaus, 717-571-5687
Nurse Anesthetists Donate $10,000 to Ronald McDonald Houses
Grant Includes $4,000 for RMHC Mid-Penn’s
‘Rooms for Ronald’ Initiative in Central Pa.
HOLLIDAYSBURG, Blair County (Dec. 19, 2019) --- Pennsylvania’s nurse anesthetists are donating $4,000 to help the Mid-Penn Region of Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC) with a new initiative to support the local chapter’s efforts to evolve the charity and its resources.
The local grant is part of $10,000 that the Pennsylvania Association of Nurse Anesthetists (PANA) is using to support each of the six RMHC houses in the commonwealth. Houses are located in Danville, Hershey, Pittsburgh and Scranton; Philadelphia has two houses. Each house will receive a $1,000 grant.
“PANA and Ronald McDonald House Charities share the same mission: to provide peace of mind and comfort to families and patients who require care,” said PANA President Angela DiDonato. “We want to do all we can to ensure families stay close during trying times, because it can ease strains and help with healing.”
RMHC provides families with housing near a hospitalized child.
In the Mid-Penn Division, however, where there is no home, the $4,000 will support the “Rooms for Ronald Program,” where the local chapter partners with participating hotels to provide families with rooming closest to the hospitals where their child is receiving care.
Helping a sick child fight their illness takes a big emotional toll on a family. Adding a financial strain can make it almost too much to bear. RMHC helps to address those problems, whether they involve housing that’s near a hospitalized child, the expense of staying together in another city, or even getting basic medical and dental care in a vulnerable community.
“This donation will directly assist our mission of keeping families together and near the care and resources they need as their children receive essential medical care,” RMHC Mid-Penn Board President Darin Tornatore said. “It also marks an important milestone in our evolution to possibly bring a home and/or signature initiative to central Pennsylvania, while simultaneously supporting a program that enables parents to stay close to their children in care.”
This is the second consecutive year that PANA has donated $10,000 to RMHC.
Pennsylvania has 13 nurse anesthetist programs, making it a leader nationally. Most of the programs are located in hospitals served by the six Ronald McDonald Houses.
PANA represents more than 3,700 certified registered nurse anesthetists (CRNAs) and students (SRNAs) in Pennsylvania.
CRNAs are the hands-on providers of anesthesia care, operating safely in every setting where anesthesia is administered, including: hospital operating and delivery rooms; ambulatory surgical centers; the offices of dentists, podiatrists, ophthalmologists, and plastic surgeons; pain management centers and more.
The Mid-Penn Division serves 13 counties in central Pennsylvania, including Blair, Cambria and other central counties.
For more information, visit www.PANA.org or www.rmhcmidpenn.org.
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