Ronald McDonald House Charities Of Idaho

Ronald McDonald House Program: When children must travel long distances to access top medical care, accommodations and support for families can be expensive or not readily available. The House helps families stay close to their ill or injured child through the Ronald McDonald House program located in Boise, Idaho, which provides temporary lodging, meals, and other support to children and their families. The program provides families with emotional and physical comfort and increases the caregivers' ability to spend more time with their child, interact with their clinical care team, and participate in critical medical care decisions.More than 970 families with sick or injured children called the Ronald McDonald House home in 2022. We provided 6,504 nights of lodging. The House continued to provide shelter for families from across Idaho, eastern Oregon, northern Nevada, several other states, and countries outside of the United States. The average length of stay was 11 days and over 75% of the families that used the house paid nothing out-of-pocket for their stay. A nominal $10 per day donation is requested, however, no one is turned away if they are unable to pay. We were able to have volunteers return to the House, and by mid-year, we were able to allow larger groups to volunteer to come into the House.In Boise, out of the House program, we provided snack bags multiple times a week and delivered these healthy snacks to our partner hospital, St. Luke's Children's. The numbers varied throughout the year, but in 2022, 3,925 snack bags were provided to families in the hospital. This allowed parents to remain nourished and at the child's bedside.

Hospitality Cart Program: Designed to serve families who wait for hours without leaving the hospital or their child's bedside, the "Happy Wheels" hospitality carts provide a bit of comfort as they travel the hallways of Saint Alphonsus Hospital and St. Luke's Children's Hospital, bringing parents a hot beverage and snack while keeping the little ones entertained with books, fun activities, and toys. Run by volunteers at each hospital, the carts are out a total of five days a week to provide comfort and care for hundreds of families each month.The Ronald McDonald Hospitality Carts were suspended during COVID and partially restarted in June 2022, and we were able to reinstate the program at St. Luke's Children's Hospital and served over 800 caregivers and children. The Organization anticipates restarting the other two carts in 2023.

Family Room Program: When a child is critically ill, parents may be reluctant to leave the hospital. In order to provide comfort and support to their child, it is important that parents have an opportunity to rest, have a meal, or have a moment of quiet. Located inside a medical care facility, the Ronald McDonald Family Room program in Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center serves as a place of respite, relaxation, and privacy for family members, often just steps away from where their child is being treated. The Ronald McDonald Family Room program provides parents with an opportunity to remain close to their hospitalized child and to be an active member of their child's healthcare team.In 2022, the Family Room served 834 unique families totaling almost 4,600 visits and 88 families for overnight stays. The average length of stay was 10 days and 100% paid nothing out-of-pocket to stay. In 2022, we were able to bring volunteers back into the Family Room and had 110 throughout the year.In 2022, the Family Room program provided 1,280 meals and snacks for families with a child in the hospital.