Ronald McDonald Family Room

When families walk into a Ronald McDonald Family Room, we want them to forget they’re in a hospital.

Often steps away from a pediatric or intensive care unit, Ronald McDonald Family Rooms offer a place of refuge to families in the hospital where their child is staying because of illness or injury.

Help Children Heal Better and Faster

Research shows that a family presence in the hospital helps children heal faster. Staying close by enables parents to better communicate with their child’s medical team and improves adherence to complicated treatment plans.

A Ronald McDonald Family Room is an area set aside inside a medical facility serving pediatric patients intended to serve as a supportive area for family members of children admitted to the hospital for treatment.  It replicates a home-like atmosphere when a parent needs a break from the "hospital environment." It may be equipped with conveniences such as a kitchen, laundry facilities, Internet access, and provides a comfortable and comforting place of respite for patients' families.  Our volunteers help give families time by freeing them up to concentrate on their child.

There are Ronald McDonald Family Rooms at Hasbro Children’s Hospital in Providence, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston and UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester.

A Ronald McDonald Family Room may include:

• A comfortable seating area for guests
• Coffee, tea and non-alcoholic beverages
• A library of reading materials
• Kitchen and dining areas
• Laundry facilities
• Computer(s) with printer and Internet access
• A "quiet room" for families who want to engage in private meditation or
  conversation
• A private telephone area for guests