News Stories
Ryan House to Celebrate Its Long Awaited Grand Opening
2/1/2010
EVLiving.com Ryan House will be a valuable pediatric resource and will include eight rooms for children and three family suites offering quality short-term medical respite and palliative care. It will be a cheerful, home-like environment complete with comfortable common areas, an outside playground, a hydrotherapy room, and a soundproof music room. Ryan House will also offer family-focused activities including arts and crafts, pet and music therapy, advocacy, consultation as well as emotional and spiritual support. Additionally, Ryan House will provide Sibshop® workshops, allowing siblings to meet, talk and gain support with other kids whose brothers and sisters have similar needs. The doors of Ryan House will be open to children diagnosed with life-threatening conditions who are currently cared for at home. Ryan House will be a place where families can bring their terminally ill children to stay independently, while receiving excellent care coordinated by their own physicians and administered by highly-trained staff. Knowing their children are in good hands, parents can take short breaks from the emotionally and physically exhausting round-the-clock care their children require at home. For parents who often feel so isolated from the rest of the world, this small gift of time with no responsibilities is not a luxury – it’s a necessity. The concept of Ryan House was brought to Phoenix by Holly and Jonathan Cottor whose youngest son, Ryan, was diagnosed with Spinal Muscular Atrophy, a genetic motor neuron disease resulting in severe weakness, while the Cottors were living in London. Having no family support system close by and feeling overwhelmed by their situation, they were referred to Helen House in London, the first children’s palliative care home in the world. Helen House allowed the Cottor family to experience the value of family-focused respite care and provided them with the proper support services to cope with Ryan’s diagnosis and care needs. Upon their return to Arizona in 2003, the Cottors committed themselves to establishing a similar children’s palliative care program in Arizona to enable families the kind of care and support they received at Helen House. In 2004, Ryan House, an Arizona 501 (c)(3) non profit organization was established, turning their pioneering concept into a reality. “The development of Ryan House would not have been possible without the exceptional support from our community partners,” said Holly Cottor. “Just as our family was so fortunate to receive the family-focused care at Helen House, we hope Ryan House will provide the very best pediatric palliative care and offer hope, courage and friendship to the many local children and families who need it.” Ryan House is being constructed by Kitchell Contractors and was designed by Orcutt | Winslow Partnership. It is located on the northwest corner of Merrell Street and First Avenue in downtown Phoenix next to St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center, who generously donated the land. Additional founding community partners include Hospice of the Valley, The Board of Visitors, The Junior League of Phoenix, and St. Luke’s Health Initiatives. “After years of planning we are thrilled to open Ryan House to the public and start serving the community,” said Nancy Martin, executive director of Ryan House. “This project has been so close to many of our hearts and it is so exciting to see it come to fruition.” The community open house will be held on Saturday, March 27 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. There will be knowledgeable volunteers on hand to answer questions and guide touring guests. A special hour from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. on Saturday will be set aside for a private preview especially for prospective families who think they may be good candidates for Ryan House’s services. For more information about Ryan House or the grand opening events, please visit www.ryanhouse.org or call (602) 200-0767. Published on behalf of Ryan HouseFirst Children’s Palliative Care Home in Southwest Set to Open in Phoenix March 27th
PHOENIX – Ryan House, the first children’s palliative care home in the Southwest, will celebrate its public grand opening on Saturday, March 27. The mission of Ryan House is to provide essential care in a home-like setting where children with life-threatening conditions and their families will come for respite and, as needed, end-of-life care.
The mission of Ryan House is to provide essential care in a home-like setting where children with life-threatening conditions and their families will come for respite and, as needed, end-of-life care. All services at Ryan House will be guided by the principles of palliative care. This philosophy of comfort care addresses not only the physical pain but also the emotional, spiritual, and social needs of the child and family. This enlightened approach to care is of critical importance, beginning at diagnosis and continuing throughout the entire course of a child’s life and beyond. Ryan House is an Arizona 501(c)(3) non-profit that was established in 2004. Ryan House is scheduled to open for business on Monday, March 29, 2010. For more information about Ryan House please visit www.ryanhouse.org.