Hospital provides free accommodation for families of ill children
The apartment building gets a facelift one year after the free accommodation program was launched.
It's the time again for Xuan Xuan to undergo the chemotherapy treatment at the Children's Hospital of Fudan University in Minhang District.
Her mom applied for a free room from the hospital before the treatment. It's the 11th time for the mother and daughter check in the free accommodation availed by the hospital.
The rooms get a facelift last month, one year after the free homes program was launched by the hospital jointly with Beijing One Heart Sphere Charity Foundation at an apartment on Shuying Road. The names of sponsoring enterprises and individuals are displayed on the donation plates at the entrance to the building.
There are 20 rooms at the building, mainly serving needy young patients and their families who travel from elsewhere to seek medical treatment in Shanghai.
Over the past year, nearly 400 families with seriously ill children have been provided with more than 3,500 nights of free accommodation.
To facilitate transportation between the building and the hospital, a free and exclusive shuttle bus is availed for the children and their families.
Each apartment in the building is equipped with a washing machine, refrigerator and rice cooker. The room will be cleaned before the new tenants move in.
During events such as the Spring Festival and Mid-Autumn Festival, celebration activities will be organized to cheer up the children and their families. Free psychological consulting program is provided to help the families relieve from the stress.
Professor Xu Hong, Party Secretary of the hospital, said, "We want to leave a light on for the families of seriously ill children who come to Shanghai for treatment.
"In the future, we hope to provide more rooms and carry out more voluntary services and parent mutual assistance through the program to help more children and their families."
For those children with acute, critical and severe diseases, if their families have not found accommodation near the hospital, they can apply to the head nurse of the ward for admission, according to Fu Lili, head of the hospital's social work department. And admission shall be handled by the sequential order of application.
The stay period generally does not exceed 14 days. After submitting the occupancy application, it will be reviewed by the department director taking charge, the social work department and the foundation, according to Fu.
