Akron Children's Hospital opens adjacent Family Resource Center and Unity Center

AKRON, Ohio — Akron Children's Hospital has opened a new Family Resource Center and Unity Center.

Both centers are housed in 1,400 square feet of renovated space on the third floor of the hospital. The hospital celebrated the opening of its new $1.7 million space Thursday.

There is a reception desk in the entrance area and 'Welcome' written on the wall in different languages.

Family Resource Center

The hospital's new Family Resource Center will serve as a hub where families can connect with Akron Children's staff and easily access community organizations for resources and information.

“Our Family Resource Center not only supports families with child health resources, but also brings together several community supports to ensure families get the help they need, when they need it. ” said Barnett L. Williams.

Williams serves as chief diversity, equity and inclusion officer and vice president of external initiatives at Akron Children's.

The center provides access to:

• Population health. Provides resources to help families manage medical and social needs, connect families to resources, and provide health education.
• Safety Center with home safety products for eligible families, including car seats, baby gates, locks, gun lock boxes, and more.
• The Patient and Family Library offers materials for adults, teens, and children in multiple languages.
• Relationships with patients to help families navigate the hospital system.
• Translation and language access services.
• Business center with computer access, additional computers and printers.
• The Summit County Public Health WIC Clinic provides nutritional counseling, supplemental food and formula benefits to income-eligible pregnant women and women with infants or children up to age 5.
• Summit County Department of Employment and Family Services. Provides child care assistance, Medicaid, food assistance and temporary cash assistance to households with income (Thursday).
• United Way of Summit & Medina Financial Empowerment Center offers financial coaching, secure banking connections, and tax preparation services starting in 2025 (Wednesday).

Williams said she is excited about the partnerships the centers are bringing together and the synergies those partners will bring to the hospital.

unity center

The Unity Center space is part of the hospital's ongoing commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion. The center will house the hospital's diversity, equity and inclusion team and provide space for meetings and conversations.

“Our new Unity Center is a beautiful new space that brings together our Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion team and serves as a welcoming and safe space for all hospital employees and volunteers,” Williams said. Ta.

Northeast Ohio artist Van Monroe was commissioned to create a mural for the Unity Center. The mural, titled “Uniquely Beautiful,” features smiling children and butterflies of different colors.

Mr Monroe said the work aims to evoke vibrancy, uniqueness and a childlike spirit.

The Akron Children's Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion team is working to complete a cultural calendar that includes a variety of religious and cultural events. We hope this event will help people learn more about different cultures and each other.

“Akron Children's Hospital is a really important hub, not just in downtown, but in Northeast Ohio. People come here from all over the community for help in the most difficult moments of their lives. So this is our It really means a lot to the entire community,” Akron Mayor Shamas Malik said. “As you know, we at the City of Akron are working with many people to put more emphasis on youth and families. , we know that your ability to pay your mortgage or pay your bills can also be affected. There are so many different aspects to all of this. We are proud to have hired Richelle Wardell as our health strategist and will be an important partner to many in this room.”

Malik went on to say the city will increase its own Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Office (from one to three people) to prioritize inclusivity and dismantling systemic racism.

The Family Resource Center and Unity Center are open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and can be reached at 330-543-9674.

Want more Akron news? Sign up for Rubber City Updates on cleveland.coman e-mail newsletter distributed on Wednesdays at 5:30 a.m.