The Ronald McDonald House is a home-away-from-home that keeps families close to children receiving medical care in a nearby hospital. When your family stays at one of our two St. Louis Houses, we want you to find the comfort and care of a home. We also aim to remove the financial strain that would prohibit you from staying as long as your child needs you. Our priority is to keep you close to your child to support their healing. When you don’t know what’s next, we help make “what’s now” the best we can. And provide a soft pillow after a hard day.
We suggest a $15 donation per night. No family is turned away based on the ability to pay.
A referral and passed background check does not guarantee that a room will become available. These two items simply place the family on the waitlist.
Bring photo ID for all adults 18 and older who will be staying overnight. Also, bring your insurance/Medicaid card and information. (Please note, certain insurance companies, or Medicaid, will cover the cost of lodging, but you will need to contact them in advance of your stay for pre-approval).
Unlike hotels, the Ronald McDonald House allows each family only one room. Only 4 people per room.
Each individual guest family is responsible for cleaning their own room, bathroom and linens.
Each House is a community living setting with communal areas and a full-size kitchen.
For personal items, including food, drink or medicine, each guest family is given secure storage space, along with refrigerator space in the kitchen area.
Only service animals are allowed to stay with a guest family.
Guest families are welcome to come and go as they please, but the room must be utilized every day for sleeping.
The House provides a complete bedding set for you to use during your entire stay. Laundry facilities are available on-site.
There is no smoking or vaping anywhere in the House. However, there are designated smoking areas located outside.
Bedrooms: Each family has a private bedroom.
Bathrooms: Both Houses have private bathrooms.
Kitchen Facilities: These are available for families to store food and prepare meals. Thanks to volunteers from the community, dinners are usually provided each night and breakfast is usually provided on Saturday and Sunday mornings.
Laundry Facilities: Washing machines and dryers are available for families to do their laundry at no charge.
TV Rooms & Playrooms: There are several community TV rooms and playrooms for families and children to use.
Transportation: Weekday shuttle service is available for families with limited access to transportation.
We now offer a virtual translation service that assists with translating over 250 different languages. Please see a member of Family Services for more information.
Here are resources for applying to stay with us and numbers you might need once you’re here.
If you have experienced the hospitality of the St. Louis Ronald McDonald Houses or our in-hospital Family Rooms we’d love to hear from you!
