The CEO of Ronald McDonald House BC & Yukon says the new family room in Kamloops likely won’t lead to a drop in the number of families it serves in Vancouver.

Richard Pass says about 27 per cent of the 2,000 families who use the Ronald McDonald House in Vancouver are from Kamloops and the BC Interior.

But he says the Interior families who go to the Lower Mainland usually end up going there for specialized treatment at the BC Children’s Hospital.

“And so it’s going to be a whole new population that we are going to serve here that we currently wouldn’t be serving,” Pass told NL News. “And so it really is expanding our reach into the province and serving more families which is the mission of Ronald McDonald House.”

The Ronald McDonald family room in Kamloops – part of the expanded Patient Care Tower – is expected to open in 2024.

“If you are being treated here at the [Royal Inland] Hospital, if you are in the hospital, then you’re welcome in the family room,” added Pass.

The new family room in Kamloops has yet to be designed, but officials say it will have sleeping rooms, a play area, and a space for people to prepare hot meals and snacks while they wait.

BC’s other Ronald McDonald family room is at the Surrey Memorial Hospital.