New Kiwanis Family House set to open next week

Grand opening festivities are scheduled next week for the new, $5 million Kiwanis Family House adjacent to the M.I.N.D. Institute. The gleaming new facility, which is three times as large as the original family house, is designed to provide up to 32 families at any given time with temporary housing while loved ones are patients at the medical center.

For the past year, construction crews and Kiwanis volunteers have been working to complete the 19,000 square-foot building and prepare it for new arrivals. It includes kitchen facilities, common rooms, outdoor areas and hook-ups for recreational vehicles.

The Kiwanis Family House has been a partnership effort with UC Davis Medical Center for nearly 20 years. Since the current house opened on 48th Street, it has provided a home away from home for more than 12,000 families from 34 states and 9 other countries. With only 13 rooms, however, it has usually operated at full capacity.

Vice Chancellor for Human Health Services and UC Davis School of Medicine Dean Claire Pomeroy, who is scheduled to speak during the opening festivities next Friday, has been one of many within the health system who has seen the new facility blossom on 50th Street during the past year.

“As we all know so well, the Kiwanis Family House represents much more than just a temporary and convenient place for people to stay while they have a loved one in our hospital,” said Pomeroy. “The support and presence that families provide for patients is a fundamental part of treatment and care.”

The Kiwanis Family House is dedicated to providing support to families of seriously ill or injured children and other patients being treated at the UC Davis Medical Center. Guests have immediate access to their child’s bedside, free shuttle service to the hospital, and a staff of caring volunteers available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Grand opening activities for the new Kiwanis Family House begin at 10 a.m. on Friday, July 21. A barbeque is scheduled for noon. The celebration continues on Saturday, with a breakfast at 9 a.m., followed by several presentations and speakers at 10 a.m., including UC Davis Medical Center interim director William McGowan. Another noontime barbeque is also scheduled for the event.

For more information, visit www.kiwanisfamilyhouse.org.