WHAT WE DO
Since 1981, Ronald McDonald House Charities of Arkansas has been creating, finding and supporting programs that directly impact the well-being of children. We do this through our core programs, the Ronald McDonald House, the Ronald McDonald Family Room and the Ronald McDonald Care Mobile.
Keeping Families Close at Ronald McDonald House
When a family struggles with their child's critical medical condition, the Ronald McDonald House provides a private place for them to stay each night and the little things that are otherwise easily taken for granted. While RMHCA cannot make medicine taste better or take away painful treatments, families receive comfortable suites, hot meals, play spaces and friendly faces to come home to after a long day in the hospital. Ronald McDonald House is not a hotel, but a warm "home-away-from-home" with a sense of community and support.
This Ronald McDonald House has provided stress-relieving comfort and respite for more than 42,000 families when their child was sent to Little Rock for life saving medical care, We expect to provide respite for another 1,200 families in 2020. These families must travel hundreds of miles from their homes, from all across Arkansas, many states and other countries. Families are often heard saying, "we don't know what we would do without the Ronald McDonald House."
Keeping Families Close in the Ronald McDonald Family Room
When families walk into the Ronald McDonald Family Room at UAMS, we want them to forget they are in a hospital. Located in the center of the NICU floor, it offers a place to rest and regroup, just moments away from their sick child. Featuring four overnight rooms, where families can stay on the same floor and with their other children, they are always near their tiny baby’s room. Between 8AM-8PM each day, all NICU families can visit the Ronald McDonald Family Room to step away from the intense surroundings of the NICU for a moment of peace, a snack and cup of coffee, a meal, quick shower, laundry, and much more. Research shows that staying close by allows parents to better communicate with their child’s medical team and improves adherence to complicated treatment plans.
Keeping Kids Healthy
The Ronald McDonald Care Mobile provides free dental care and educational services to Arkansas' under-served children in their own neighborhoods. Through a relationship between Ronald McDonald House Charities of Arkansas, Arkansas Children's Hospital and Delta Dental of Arkansas, this 40-foot, state-of-the-art, mobile dental clinic visits schools and other youth-serving agencies bringing hope and relief to children who would otherwise not be able to obtain dental care.
