IKEA Canada helps create a comfortable home-like environment for women with high-risk pregnancies at Mount Sinai Hospital

TORONTO, July 21, 2016 /CNW/ - Four new self-care hospitality suites were transformed today for women with high-risk pregnancies at Mount Sinai Hospital, part of Sinai Health System.

The self-care hospitality suites were developed to provide accommodation for high-risk pregnant women who are not acutely ill, but who are at risk of requiring immediate access to care due to a complicated pregnancy.

"These hospitality suites, located on the 17^th floor at Mount Sinai Hospital, allow women immediate access to care if they need it, without having to be admitted to a hospital bed as a patient," says Dr. Wendy Whittle, Maternal Fetal Medicine Specialist, Mount Sinai Hospital. "We are very grateful to IKEA Canada for helping to make these suites function as a home away from home. These patients are already in a high stress situation, and anything that we can do to improve their experience is very gratifying."

IKEA Canada generously donated home furnishing products and décor for each room, including beds, chairs, tables, shower curtains and wall art. Each suite was designed in collaboration with various hospital departments (infection control, support services and quality and safety) to ensure each piece of furniture and décor adheres to hospital safety and quality regulations. Interior designers and co-workers at four IKEA locations in the Greater Toronto Area (Burlington, Etobicoke, North York, Vaughan) helped make each suite bright and comfortable.

"At IKEA we want to have a positive impact on the communities where we do business," said Katherine Davey, IKEA Canada Country Communications and Interior Design Manager. "We're pleased to be offering our support and comforts of home to families at a time when they need it the most."

Two thirds of the pregnancies overseen at Mount Sinai are considered high-risk or at risk, and the hospital is one of only a few hospitals that provides care for complex and complicated pregnancies in the Greater Toronto Area. Patients may come from across Canada to access the skill and expertise available at Mount Sinai. The hospital is a centre of excellence for in utero fetal therapy in Canada, provides cares for babies with complex congenital anomalies and has a program dedicated to complex maternal medical complications in pregnancy.

"As a high-risk pregnancy patient, it is comforting to know that I'm so close to Canada's top experts in this area," says Raman, the very first guest to use the hospitality suites.

This self-care hospitality pilot program represents an innovate style of delivering health care in a holistic manner where safety concerns, cost efficiency and effectiveness are balanced with creating a safe, comprehensive care plan targeted at healthy pregnancy outcome.

About Mount Sinai Hospital
Mount Sinai Hospital, part of Sinai Health System, is an internationally recognized 442-bed acute care academic health sciences centre affiliated with the University of Toronto. Clinical strengths include women's and infants' health, chronic disease management, specialized cancer care, emergency medicine and geriatrics. Mount Sinai has been designated with Exemplary Status from Accreditation Canada and every aspect of patient care is anchored in a rigorous quality plan and monitoring of safety and quality goals. Mount Sinai was recently named the first hospital in Canada to receive Magnet® status for nursing excellence and patient care.

About Sinai Health Foundation
Sinai Health Foundation raises and stewards funds to support Sinai Health System comprised of Mount Sinai Hospital, Joseph & Wolf Lebovic Health Complex; Bridgepoint Active Healthcare; Circle of Care; and the Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute- from healthy beginnings to healthy aging. These organizations have come together to combine acute care, rehabilitation and complex care, home care, and other community-based services all fueled by world-class research. The generous support of our community fuels everything we do from compassionate care to scientific discovery.

About IKEA Canada
IKEA is a leading home furnishing retailer with 375 stores in more than 50 countries worldwide, which are visited by 884 million people every year. IKEA Canada has 12 stores, an ecommerce virtual store and six Pick-up and order point locations in southern Ontario and Quebec. The company also recently announced plans to open a 13th store in Halifax, Nova Scotia in late 2017. Last year, IKEA Canada welcomed 25 million visitors to its stores and 75 million visitors to the IKEA.ca website. Founded in 1943, the IKEA business philosophy is to offer a wide range of products of good design and function at prices so low, the majority of people can afford them. For more information on IKEA, please visit: www.IKEA.ca.

SOURCE IKEA Canada

Janessa Bishop, Marketing & Communications Specialist, Sinai Health Foundation, 416-586-4800 ext. 8842, [email protected]; Stephanie Kerr, Corporate Press Officer, IKEA Canada, 905-637-9440 ext. 6378, [email protected]