Volunteers show off the new comfort cart at Chinook Regional Hospital. (Photo: Lethbridge News Now)

By David Opinko

New comfort cart added to Chinook Regional Hospital

Oct 23, 2025 | 12:48 PM

The Ronald McDonald House says it wants to support families at Lethbridge’s hospital who are going through a difficult time.

It has added a comfort cart to Chinook Regional Hospital.

Natasha Tiemstra, COO of Ronald McDonald House Alberta, says it will travel between units, including labour & delivery, neonatal intensive care (NICU), pediatric, and ambulatory care.

“We know that families have a wide variety of needs, and they want to stay close to their kids when they’re in the hospital,” says Tiemstra. “In order to help them stay close to their kids, we want to bring the comforts that they need to them, whether that’s food, whether that’s water, whether that’s coffee, whether that’s an activity book for a sibling, whether that’s a toy, whether that’s a blanket to keep them comfy.”

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The cart was first rolled out on Oct. 14 and is offered to families for free.

Santana Stewart, a NICU nurse at Chinook Regional Hospital, says she has already heard from the parents of her patients that this was exactly the “pick me up” that they needed.

Stewart is also a patient of the Ronald McDonald House, as she frequently has to visit the facility in Calgary for her three-year-old daughter, who has chronic kidney failure.

She spoke highly of the care and services the organization provides.

“Being a parent and in a similar situation, I can also vouch that, even the little bit of kindness that’s provided with a coffee or a snack when you’ve been in the hospital all day is huge. You don’t understand how big of a gesture that is until you’re in that situation. It’s been very helpful,” says Stewart.

The Ronald McDonald House already has comfort carts at hospitals in Calgary and Red Deer.

Tiemstra says they are looking to potentially expand into Medicine Hat in the future.

Members of the Chinook Regional Hospital Foundation and Ronald McDonald House pose next to the new comfort cart. (Photo: Lethbridge News Now)