The Concept Behind Ronald McDonald House

Mission Statement:

Ronald McDonald House Houston offers a home away from home providing care, compassion and hope to families with seriously ill children being treated in Texas Medical Center member institutions.

• Holcombe House a freestanding 50-bedroom home for longer term stays
• House inside Texas Children's Hospital (TCH) a home with 20 bedrooms
• House inside Children's Memorial Hermann Hospital a home with 14 bedrooms
• Four Family Rooms inside TCH
• "Cookie Corner" at M. D. Anderson Children's Cancer Hospital

When a critical illness strikes a child, whether it be cancer, the need for a transplant, or other life-threatening disease, the nearest treatment can be far from home in an unfamiliar medical center. The treatment likely requires long periods of hospitalization and extended periods of hospital-based therapy. The only solution for many families is to leave their home, friends and family behind in order to remain at their child's side and stay as close to the hospital as possible.

However, no health insurance plan has ever covered the additional expense of food and lodging while living far from home. Nor do they accommodate the special emotional needs of fearful parents and confused siblings. The best solution is to offer families a home away from home where they could be a family again, and enjoy a little privacy as well as the support of others experiencing a similarly anxious time.