When a family has a sick child, their world changes. And although logistics aren't the first thing on the family's mind, they must be dealt with. If their child is in a hospital in another city, that means extra expenses for lodging, meals away from home, travel and more. And with time off from work and extra medical bills, these extra expenses can be impossible to handle, even for families who are financially well off.
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That's where Ronald McDonald House Charities comes in. The organization has houses throughout the world, providing lodging, meals and more to families who have a child in the hospital. Even transportation to and from the hospital is provided, which is a particular help to families staying in Atlanta so they don't have to navigate the city's traffic.
Although McDonald's is the nonprofit's largest corporate partner, it doesn't provide all the funding required. Local franchisees also help, as do contributions to the small donation boxes you'll see at every McDonald's. The charity also depends on other corporate partners and the support of the communities it serves.
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Georgia has six Ronald McDonald Houses, including two in Atlanta and one in Columbus. Each one shares the same mission – to make things easier for families who have a child in the hospital.
Last year the two Atlanta Ronald McDonald houses – which are located near Children's Healthcare of Atlanta's Egleston and Scottish Rite hospitals – saved families around $3.3 million, Beth Howell, president and CEO of Atlanta Ronald McDonald House Charities, said. The length of time they stay at the houses varies, from one family who stayed about 10 months, to others who stayed a night or two. Families with children who have heart issues may end up needing multiple stays if more than one surgery is needed over time.
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Although they all have the same mission, each house operates a little differently depending on the market they serve, Renee Sturkie, executive director of the Ronald McDonald House Charities of West Georgia, said.
Many of Columbus' families have children who were born prematurely and hospitalized in the NICU, while others have older children who have been in a car accident. In contrast, Atlanta provides lodging to families whose children are hospitalized for a wider variety of reasons. Many are cardiac or cancer patients.
All the homes have a welcoming environment, and in Columbus, Sturkie said, they take care to welcome the families each day by name and ask about the hospitalized child by name.
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"It's a four-story house, beautifully furnished and a lovely environment. We don't want to be thought of as a hotel," she explained. Instead, the houses aim for a home-like atmosphere.
The staff also grows close to the families.
"We get very attached to some of our families," she said. One family traveling to Georgia from Arizona had twins, with one baby hospitalized in Atlanta and the other in Columbus. They stayed for about six months, and staff members now enjoy seeing the latest news about the children on Facebook.
Atlanta has a unique way of making their houses feel like homes. Howell's dog, Betty Lou, visits with families at both houses, following a five-day schedule every week. Those who have pets at home miss them, and they enjoy spending time with "Chief Happiness Officer" Betty Lou as a small reminder of home and a return to a little bit of normality.
Credit: Courtesy of Atlanta Ronald McDonald House Charities
Credit: Courtesy of Atlanta Ronald McDonald House Charities
The homes also provide the ideal place for families to form bonds with other families who are going through something similar. In fact, in one of the Atlanta houses, two families from Dalton who didn't previously know each other learned that not only are they both from the small town, but they also have children who were having heart surgery.
In addition to the houses, the Atlanta Ronald McDonald House Charities operates the Care Mobile, which Howell describes as a rolling clinic on wheels. Partnering with Children's Healthcare of Atlanta's Hughes Spalding Hospital, they identified ZIP codes with the highest need for asthma treatment for children. Based on this information, the Care Mobile visits 11 schools in an effort to keep children with asthma out of hospitals and emergency rooms and keep them healthy and in school.
This effort earned the Care Mobile's nursing team the DAISY Team Award, which recognizes nurses' efforts nationally and internationally.
Atlanta's Ronald McDonald Charities also operates a family room in the AFLAC Cancer Center at Scottish-Rite.
"It's an area of respite," Howell said. "We offer food and beverages, and they can charge their phones while they're just steps away from their child's room."
Here too, she said, families meet and bond over their shared situation.
To meet those same needs, the Ronald McDonald Charities of West Georgia operates a family room at Piedmont Columbus Regional Hospital.
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