Named in honor of Alexis Caroline Watanakunakorn
BOARDMAN
Akron Children’s Hospital Mahoning Valley recently dedicated a newly renovated unit, the Alexis Caroline Watanakunakorn Special Care Nursery, on the hospital’s Beeghly campus.
The 18-bed nursery is on the second floor and has 15 individual patient rooms, including three twin rooms, one room to accommodate triplets and one family overnight room.
A $1 million gift from Eleanor Watanakunakorn, Alexis’ grandmother, helped fund the $1.9 million project which included renovating the former special-care nursery into private inpatient rooms. The SCN, previously on the third floor of Building D on the Beeghly campus at 6505 Market St., was moved to the second floor.
The project is part of the Building on the Promise: Vision for Our Valley’s Children campaign, a multiyear Akron Children’s Mahoning Valley fundraising effort.
“We are extremely grateful to Mrs. Watanakunakorn for this generous gift. Philanthropic support like this is vital to furthering our mission and ensuring high-quality healthcare is available for families in the Mahoning Valley,” said JoAnn Stock, director of development for Akron Children’s Mahoning Valley.
The goal is to provide the best possible patient care, and single-family rooms help to achieve that objective, Lisa Taafe, hospital clinical administrative director, said previously.
“Research has shown that the infection rate decreases in a single-patient room environment, and that it allows families to participate more in the care of their children,” she said.