New Ronald McDonald House to Open inside Children’s Mercy Kansas City

Increase in need prompts expansion of space and availability

KANSAS CITY, Mo. ­- Ronald McDonald House Charities of Kansas City (RMHC-KC) announced today they will expand their footprint inside Children’s Mercy Kansas City both in services and availability. The space, currently called a Ronald McDonald Family Room, will transition to a Ronald McDonald House inside the hospital, providing 10 bedrooms and 24/7 access for families with children in the pediatric, neonatal and cardiac intensive care units.

More families than ever need a room at Ronald McDonald House in Kansas City.  Reasons for this increased demand include diminished access to pediatric health care in rural areas, more families traveling to KC for their children’s mental health care, and the opening of the Children’s Mercy Research Institute.  Family requests to stay are greater than at any time in the 42-year history of RMHC-KC.

The current Ronald McDonald Family Room inside Children’s Mercy Kansas City has offered seven small bedrooms – with common areas open only 12 hours a day.  The new Ronald McDonald House inside the hospital will offer 10 large bedrooms, with improved laundry, kitchen and relaxation spaces – open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The ICU families that this space serves are typically the families of the sickest children in the hospital. To slip away for a meal, coffee, a shower and laundry at all hours of the day and night will help more families when they need it most.

“At Ronald McDonald House Charities of Kansas City, we believe families should not face the challenges of serious pediatric illnesses alone. The new 10-bedroom Ronald McDonald House in the hospital will be a place of love, empathy and warmth … a place where a night’s sleep, a home-cooked meal or a warm shower away from a stressful environment can make all the difference in the world to families helping their children battle critical illness,” said Tami Greenberg, CEO of RMHC-KC.

“We are grateful for our partnership with RMHC-KC and having a place for families to stay with 24/7 access inside our walls at Children’s Mercy will be an incredible enhancement,” said Paul Kempinski, MS, FACHE, President and CEO, Children’s Mercy Kansas City. ”We cannot accomplish our vision of creating a world of wellbeing for all children without support from organizations like RMHC who have such an impact on a family’s ability to focus on what matters most – helping their child heal.”

Designed by Pulse Design Group, the construction for the newest Ronald McDonald House inside Children’s Mercy will begin in late December. JE Dunn will be the general contractor on the build.

Impact Numbers for the New Ronald McDonald House inside Children’s Mercy:

  • 3,650 overnight stays for families of children battling the most severe illnesses in our region
  • Respite, meals, laundry facilities, hot showers for over 9,000 visitors to the Ronald McDonald House inside Children’s Mercy
  • Increased services for families by transitioning to 24-hour availability
  • More of what matters most for sick children at Children’s Mercy and their families

More families, more room

  • Reimagination of the space, with a complete overhaul of current footprint
  • 10 larger bedrooms, 3 full bathrooms and triple the laundry space to make more families more comfortable with more amenities
  • Intentional room configuration set up for both quick visits and private moments

More availability

  • The House will be open and staffed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week; currently it is open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
  • Access to kitchen, bathrooms and laundry at all hours of the day
  • With additional rooms, families can stay for days rather than one day at a time

Continued care during construction

  • We will continue to provide snacks to the families in the hospital in a designated area TBD. (Waiting on info from Ashley at CMH)
  • There will be rooms designated to ICU families at the Ronald McDonald Houses on Cherry street for laundry, showers and other support.
  • All Children’s Mercy families will have the ability to utilize our Wylie House for food, play spaces and comfort.

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FAQs

Why are you expanding the space and services now?

  • Accelerated collapse of rural health care
  • Opening of the Children’s Mercy Research Institute
  • Children living with more complex diagnoses; growing treatment capabilities
  • Families seeking mental health care for children

When will construction start on the project?

December 20, 2023 is the last day the Family Room will be serving families until it reopens as a Ronald McDonald House. We anticipate the project will take 7 months to complete.

What will the new rooms consist of?

Currently we have 7 bedrooms, 4 of which contain a twin mattress and a chair and 3 with full beds. In the Ronald McDonald House opening in the fall, each room will boast over 100 square feet and will contain a full or queen sized bed with a desk.