'My Little Waiting Room' opening at St. Vincent Medical Center

PORTLAND, Ore. - Providence St. Vincent Medical Center is opening a new drop-in child care soon called 'My Little Waiting Room.'

Two moms came up with the idea after one of them, Amy Paterson, went through a battle with breast cancer. She went to 144 medical appointments in a year and had to arrange for child care each time.

"We believe that since retail stores, gyms and movie theaters offer drop-in child care, so should hospitals, where families are often in crisis and could use it the most," Paterson said in a press release sent out by the hospital.

Paterson co-founded the non-profit My Little Waiting Room with fellow mom Melissa Moore.

Licensed and trained child care professionals will staff the daycare center, which is slated to open in March. The services will be free of charge for patients, with a suggested donation to help defray some of the costs.

Money raised through the Providence St. Vincent Medical Foundation and grants from charitable organizations are funding the program.