CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The Charleston Coliseum and Convention Center is making sure that it’s accommodating to everyone who comes in for the different events it holds throughout the year.
Thursday, a couple of ribbon cutting ceremonies were held at the coliseum for a newly-renovated second nursing station and a Universal Changing Space. 
Delegate Kayla Young was among the dignitaries to attend the ribbon cutting event Thursday as she helped donate the $5,000 in funding for the nursing station.
She said there was already one nursing station that had recently opened at the coliseum and this second one improved and expanded on that.
Young said breast feeding mothers were in need of a space like this at a place that sees so much traffic.
“It’s important for parents to have great spaces who are out at an event or for moms who are at a trade show to make sure that they have a good facility so they don’t have to go and pump in their car when they’re trying to feed their kids or if they don’t want to breast feed in public and they want a more private space,” Young said.
Charleston Coliseum and Convention Center General Manager Patrick Leahy said they are grateful for Young’s contribution and improvements to the nursing station.
“It now has soft lighting, it has got a warm interior, it’s family friendly, there’s now a child protection seat so if someone’s coming in and they need to nurse one child and they have a toddler they can strap them into the protective seat,” Leahy said.
He said they now have a nursing station on the concourse of the coliseum and one on the convention center side.
In addition, a changing facility for companion care was also installed on the second floor of the coliseum and convention center for people who may need adult changing facilities.
Young said this had also been a need there.
“Sometimes companions will have to put their family members on the floor to change them if they have differently abled adults, so it’s kind of like a changing table and it has a motor in it, because sometimes those companions will have to lift the adults off the ground and that can be difficult,” she said.
Leahy said the typical changing tables in restrooms aren’t physically capable of holding an adult, so this gives caretakers a much better option than using the floor.
“It’s adjustable, it’s wall-mounted, so it allows a dignified and secure environment,” he said.
He said the changing facility was funded through Capital Improvement Funds that had been collected at the center through various events.
Young said these facilities help make the coliseum and convention center more inclusive for all families.
“You want to make sure you have facilities that everybody can use so everybody can come to all of these different events that they have,” Young said.
Leahy added that these are both great new additions to the Charleston Coliseum and Convention Center.
“We’re constantly striving to make the facility usable, serviceable, functionable, inviting for all of our community, regardless of what kinds of needs you might have.”