Ronald McDonald House: Providing Shelter and Hope, with DHHS’s YuniMed by Their Side By Jeffrey Liang

The YuniMed club was founded at DHHS with the goal of providing support and resources to families of hospitalized children. To expand outreach beyond the school community, YuniMed connected with the Ronald McDonald House (RMHC) in New Haven, CT. As part of this outreach effort, I interviewed Emily Lopez, a coordinator of Volunteer and Guest Services at RMHC. Below, she shares RMHC’s positive impact on families with hospitalized children.

Q: What is the history and mission of the Ronald McDonald House?

A: Dr. Audrey Evans, a pioneering pediatric oncologist, founded Ronald McDonald House Charities® in 1974 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Dr. Evans believed that when a child is sick, the whole family is sick. With family-centered care in mind, RMHC was established with a mission to provide essential services that remove barriers, strengthen families and promote healing when children need healthcare.

RMHC has since expanded to become a worldwide organization operated by local Chapters. Ronald McDonald House Charities of Connecticut and Western Massachusetts (RMHC CTMA) was established in 1988, operating programs in New Haven, Connecticut and Springfield, Massachusetts that promote our mission.

Q: What are the core values of the Ronald McDonald House?

A: The core values of RMHC CTMA are compassion, respect, acting with integrity, and firm commitment to our mission, families, and network of supporters.

Q: What services does the Ronald McDonald House offer?

A: RMHC CTMA operates two House programs in New Haven, CT and Springfield, MA. Our Houses are homes away from home for the families who stay with us, offering a warm, homelike atmosphere with comfortable beds, private baths, a well-stocked kitchen and volunteers ready to support our guests.

Our Connecticut House offers 18 guest rooms with private bathrooms and two respite rooms for short-term use. Our Springfield House offers 20 guest rooms and private bathrooms and one respite room. Both Houses are equipped with fully-stocked kitchens, community dining rooms, on-site laundry rooms, and more amenities, all designed to relieve families’ stress so that they can focus their time, attention, and energy on helping their child heal.

Q: What are some important achievements or milestones the Ronald McDonald House has accomplished?

A: In 2024, RMHC is celebrating its 50th anniversary! The first Ronald McDonald House opened on October 15th, 1974. Locally, we celebrated our 36th anniversary as a Chapter this summer. In 2023, we had 380 families stay in our Houses throughout the year for a total of 7,196 nights of care. We helped the families who stayed with us save $2,158,800 in lodging and meal expenses last year.

Q: Can you share a story from someone who has been positively impacted by

the Ronald McDonald House?

A: Below is a family story from one of RMHC’s recent newsletters.

“John David, ‘JD’ as we call him, was a typical child and loved life. At the age of five, he had a bike accident. He was racing his brother and sister outside in the yard and he flipped off his bike and fell. We found him laying still on the ground and not breathing. From this point forward things seemed a little off. He started telling us his head hurt and was experiencing signs of headaches. Upon further exploration, the doctors told us it could be allergies and basically not to worry. Over time, his pain increased which led us to Maine to consult with a neurologist.

I think they thought we were crazy parents as we advocated and questioned in order to get JD the best answers and treatment. JD was put through many medical tests and given a spinal tap. The pressure within his brain was very high and very concerning. As parents, our worries increased with every test and every step.

JD was sent to a neurosurgeon in Boston who wanted to give him experimental medicine. Another neurosurgeon we saw in Philadelphia was unsure as to next steps. JD endured tests upon tests from a spinal tap to a vascular system exploration. Ultimately, he had surgery to place a shunt in his head to manage the pressure within it. The experimental drugs didn’t work and gave him heart issues and additional problems. It was seeing JD struggle at such a young age and become increasingly more traumatized by every appointment and test, that made us decide to back away from all medication.

At seven years old, JD was suffering from dizzy spells and frequent falls, all because of what was happening within his brain. He fell down the stairs and basically did a cartwheel using his head. This fall resulted in a damaged brain shunt, and another surgery was needed to replace it. Unfortunately, the wrong size shunt was used during the repair surgery which resulted in a third surgery to correct the shunt size. During this surgery, JD, now eight years old, suffered a stroke.

We travelled throughout New England to get medical help and support for JD. He was found to have Shprintzen-Goldberg syndrome, a rare genetic disorder that affects several parts of a person’s body. It affects a person’s joints, their connective tissue, internal organs, and skin. They are hyper-mobile, so their joints are a little loose and not stable. There are about 40-50 people in the world thought to have the condition. JD also has polycystic kidney disease and Tourette’s syndrome.

Being away from home, doctor’s appointments, invasive medical procedures, hospitalizations, surgeries, or even staying in other overnight housing locations triggers JD’s PTSD each and every time. It is hard to watch your child struggle and we do our very best to help him. We will do anything for him.

Coming to Ronald McDonald House and staying many times over the last few years, getting to know staff and staff really getting to know us, has shifted something with JD’s PTSD. The signs of his PTSD just don’t show up. This is huge! He shares that he feels seen as a person and everyone is kind and happy.

Before coming to RMH, he would instantly want to leave our accommodations, asking how many days before he could go home and counting down the days until he could return to the safety of our home. Now we hear JD say, ‘Do we have to leave? When can we go back? Can’t we stay longer?’

JD is in for a lifetime of medical care as his conditions shift. As his parents, we are setting him up to be successful, independent, and healthy. Being here at the House, he is happy, comfortable and can be himself. The staff see him and are attentive to who he is and positively interact with him in a positive way. They care. They support. They offer compassion. This provides reassurance that people are good and kind, and the days ahead are going to be okay.

Currently, we are waiting for a surgery date. Surgery this time will allow JD’s hips, knees and ankles to be realigned and improve his physical mobility that is affected by his other challenges. This would not have been possible in years past with JD’s PTSD. Thank you for turning the Ronald McDonald House into a bright, comfortable, fun, and safe home. We will be back, so for now we will say, see you soon.”

Q: What are fun facts about the Ronald McDonald House?

A: Did you know that McDonald’s iconic Shamrock Shake was created to fund the first Ronald McDonald House? In her quest to build a home away from home for her patients’ families, Dr. Evans connected with local McDonald’s managers to create the Shamrock Shake – funds raised from selling the Shake helped Dr. Evans to purchase the house that would become the first Ronald McDonald House.

Q: What is something new coming to the Ronald McDonald House that you are excited about?

A: We are currently expanding our programming to offer more care to families. Due to high demand in New Haven, our Connecticut House will undergo an expansion to add 11 more guest rooms, bringing our total to 29 bedrooms. In Springfield, we are revitalizing our House to ensure it remains a comfortable space for families, and we are opening our first Family Room program, the Ronald McDonald Family Room in Baystate Children’s Hospital, expected to open this fall!

The YuniMed club is thankful for this chance to connect with Emily and learn more about the inspiring stories made possible by RMHC. If you are interested in engaging more with families of hospitalized children, join YuniMed club! Follow their account on Instagram @dhhs_yunimedclub, and look out for announcements about meetings, which are every other Friday at 2pm.