The Ronald McDonald Family Room Program is now open at Stony Brook University Medical Center.

The partnership between Stony Brook and the Ronald McDonald House aims to meet the needs of families at the hospital. They essentially put two rooms together that include lockers, laundry facilities, bathrooms and comfortable seating.

The program is expected to support families of more than 7,000 children who come through the hospital each year.

"A parent is now able to stay at a child's bedside," Dr. Margaret McGovern told News 12. "When a parent is with a child, things go better. The outcomes are better, so we encourage this."

Crews are expected to break ground on the Children's Hospital at Stony Brook in January.