This July, the Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital, which is situated in Cape Town, was able to begin the much needed project of upgrading and extending their parents’ accommodation section, thanks to the donations of the RE/MAX Foundation and other key sponsors.

According to research by the hospital, evidence has shown that the recovery of ill children is greatly improved when parents are present during their hospitalisation. For this reason the Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital follows a family friendly approach towards the care of sick children, allowing parents and caregivers access to their children 24-hours a day. Through donations from RE/MAX Broker/Owners, founder donors, sales associates and the other members of the RE/MAX network, the RE/MAX Foundation was able donate R 100 000 towards the R 5.5million project, which will double the facility’s capacity from 60 beds to 120.

Sandy Smith, RE/MAX Foundation Manager, says: “Situated on the grounds of the hospital, the parents’ accommodation facility affords parents the opportunity to be close to their children during their hospital stay. Many of the patients are referred to the Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital from other parts of the country as it is the only dedicated specialist paediatric hospital serving the children of Southern Africa. It is a national asset and handles the worst cases of disease and chronic illness in children under the age of 12 years old,” she says. “Many of the children that arrive at the hospital are from poor communities and their parents are unable to pay for accommodation in the area or the commute to and from the hospital to be with their children on a daily basis.”

The hospital has seen an increase in the number patients over the past few years, which led to the need to increase the capacity of the out-dated accommodation which has not been renovated since it was built in 2001. The current facility is an 18-room, prefabricated structure that was initially designed to accommodate between two and four people per room, however this number was increased to six people per room to further accommodate the growing number of patients’ parents needing a place to stay. The current structure does not adequately support this specialised hospital’s vision of providing holistic care to its patients and their families. Aside from the additional rooms, the renovation and extension to the structure will further include:

• Extending the dining room to accommodate more people
• Creating a garden, a child friendly play area and rooms for those waiting for beds
• A lounge area for parents to relax, with access to the garden and a patio
• An isolation facility for mothers who test positive for TB. This would be on a short term basis until they can be transported home
• Increasing the number of showers for men
• Providing wheelchair facilities for children with disabilities in the showers and toilets
• Upgrading the kitchen
• Enclosing the courtyard and upgrading the laundry room to provide space for storage
• Creating a quiet, multipurpose room for bereavement and breastfeeding

“We are extremely proud to have been able to contribute to this project,” says Adrian Goslett, CEO of RE/MAX of Southern Africa and RE/MAX Foundation Director. “It is the vision of the RE/MAX Foundation to assist people and improve the situations of those in need wherever possible. We are particularly focused on supporting the upliftment and development of the youth, and positively impacting the lives of the younger generation in Southern Africa,” he says.

“The RE/MAX Foundation would not have been able to make the contribution it has without the support of its dedicated donors who wish to improve the lives of those less fortunate. It is our goal to continue to find areas where the RE/MAX Foundation can make an impact to help uplift and develop children in this country,” concludes Smith.

About RE/MAX Worldwide and RE/MAX of Southern Africa

Established in Denver, Colorado in 1973, RE/MAX is recognised as one of the leading international global real estate franchise companies with the most productive sales force in the industry. RE/MAX has over 90000 agents operating from over 6300 offices in over 90 countries worldwide.

RE/MAX was named the number one real estate franchise in the USA in the 34th annual Franchise 500 survey appearing in the January 2013 edition of Entrepreneur magazine. This is the tenth time in the last 14 years that RE/MAX has earned these top honours. In October 2012, USA magazine Franchise Times also named RE/MAX the number one real estate franchise in its annual Top 200 ranking, based on worldwide sales.

RE/MAX of Southern Africa, which was founded in 1994, is regarded as the pioneer of the RE/MAX international expansion as it was the first country franchise to be sold outside of North America. RE/MAX of Southern Africa was recognised as the top RE/MAX region in the world at the group's Las Vegas convention in March this year. RE/MAX has over 1800 agents operating from over 175 offices in 10 countries in Southern Africa.

Nobody in the world sells more real estate than RE/MAX.

Issued by Squared Communications On behalf of RE/MAX of Southern Africa
WESLEY BARNARD
011 462 8959
wesley@squaredcommunications.co.za