Hospital sun room provides relaxation space for cancer patients

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A new $1-million sun room, paid for by donations to the Friends of The Moncton Hospital Foundation, was officially opened on the fourth floor of the hospital Friday, providing a space where cancer patients can relax with their families.

“When you are healthy, you don’t think about places like this, but when you are sick you really appreciate it,” said Lucien Vautour, 79, of Neguac, the first patient to use the new room. Vautour was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, had surgery in Miramichi and transferred to Moncton for treatments. He spent nine days in the hospital with his daughter, Franciska Vautour, and was going home Friday feeling better, and with a big smile on his face. He said the sun room has been a great place to spend time and relax between treatments.

“it’s like being in hotel. You can just sit and relax and forget that you’re in the hospital for a while,” Vautour said.

The new room is off the 30-bed oncology inpatient unit on the fourth floor of The Moncton Hospital. It is approximately 480 square feet, with large windows that provide a panoramic view of the city. It is wheelchair accessible with a patio door to a 280 square-foot outdoor garden area, which will allow patients and visitors to sit outside without going down the elevator to the main doors.

The room has several chairs and couches, a chess board and a radio/CD player. Vautour said he was elated when he arrived a CD of his favourite singer, Johnny Reid.

Laura Booth, a nurse manager for the oncology unit, said the new room has already provided benefits for the patients. Some patients spend weeks or months in the ongology unit.

“People are walking more and able to go outdoors. It’s like having a space that they can call home, where they can feel like they aren’t in the hospital for a while. A lot of times, patients just want to get a breath of fresh air and this space will enable that,” Booth said.

Julie Thebeau, director of communications and donor experience for the Friends Foundation, said the sun room was entirely funded by more than 2,000 donors, with a major donation from East Coast Oral Surgery.

“We all understand the importance of wellness on our healing journey,” Thebeau said. “This calming space will provide a significant improvement to the physical and psychological well being of patients. Having access to sunlight can help ease mild depression and improve sleep quality. Our patients deserve to be given the tools to inspire healing during their health journey, offering hope that they have a life beyond their illness and symptoms.”

The foundation says 95 New Brunswickers each week learn that they have cancer. In 2022, New Brunswick had about 5,000 cancer cases diagnosed. The Moncton Hospital’s oncology unit is one of the busiest in the province.

Friends Foundation President and CEO Greg King said the idea for the sun room was proposed by staff a few years ago, and the foundation made it happen thanks to donations from the public.

“This is clearly a project that would never happen without donor money, because the government is so focused on delivering on standards of care, so the ‘nice to haves’ like a space where people can go to get away from the unit and feel the sunshine and get in the garden space outside would never happen. When you are in a hospital unit and stuck there, a place like this is magical,” King said.