KANSAS CITY, Mo. — After eight years of working to establish a specialized daycare for children with immune deficiencies, RJ Children’s Haven is one step closer to achieving its goal.
This Christmas, an anonymous donor gave the non-profit organization a building in Kansas City for its daycare.
“He saw that this just needed to see the light of day,” said Karen Anthony, president of the organization’s board. “I already see them there. I already see the kids interacting with one another.”
Like others on the board for RJ Children’s Haven, Anthony is a retired nurse. And her experiences interacting with children in the hospital helped come up with the idea for a place.
“I’ve seen the children go from an environment of being diagnosed and once they are diagnosed they are sitting at home or in the clinic and the hospital,” she said. “What I saw was just the loneliness.”
The daycare would be catered to children still undergoing treatment or therapy. The organization plans on having a clean air HVA system in place as well as providing music, art and play therapy.
While the organization is “non-medical,” Anthony said they hope to have a nursing program in place in order to have a nurse always present.
The donated building is located on Cherry Street, a couple blocks from Children’s Mercy. They hope to open in the Fall of 2018.
