Stay With Us
Our House is Your "Home"
The Ronald McDonald House is a home-away-from-home that keeps families together when it matters most. When you and your family stay at one of our three Ronald McDonald Houses, we want you to find the comfort and care of a home. Most importantly, we want you to find the support you need to focus on what matters most – helping your child heal.
How to Stay
- A family must reside 50 or more miles away from the medical facility where treatment is being received
- The patient receiving medical treatment must be 18 years of age or younger
- All family members must be free of infectious disease
- All family members 18 years of age and older will need to pass a background check
Families who have never stayed at Ronald McDonald House St. Louis:
- A room request must be completed by your child’s social worker and submitted no more than 5 days prior to the date you need to stay at the Ronald McDonald House. The patient’s nurse or physician should be able to direct you to social services
- All family members 18 years of age and older will need to complete a Background Check Authorization and pass the Background Check screening
- Once a referral has been received and the background check has been approved, you will be placed on a waitlist and will be contacted by RMHC staff when a room becomes available
Returning Families who have stayed at Ronald McDonald House St. Louis:
- Complete the Returning Family Room Request no more than 5 days prior to the date you need to stay at the Ronald McDonald House
- All family members 18 years and older will need to complete a Background Check Authorization and pass the background check screening. This must be done yearly
- Once a referral has been received and the background check has been approved, you will be placed on a waitlist and will be contacted by RMHC staff when a room becomes available
Frequently Asked Questions
The patient receiving treatment must be 18 years or younger. A family must reside 50 or miles away from the medical facility where treatment is being received. All family members must be free of infectious diseases. Also, all family members 18 years and older must pass a background check.
We suggest a $15 donation per night. No family is turned away based on the ability to pay.
A room request must be completed by the patient’s social worker and submitted no more than five days prior to the date you need to stay.
A family member may complete a Returning Family Room Request no more than five days prior to the date you need to stay. Access the Returning Family Room Request here.
The patient’s nurse or physician should be able to direct you to social services, or you can go to the hospital information desk.
All family members, 18 years and older, including the patient, must fill out and pass a background check to stay at Ronald McDonald House.
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.
When a room becomes available, a member of the Family Services Team will contact the family and give further instructions about check-in.
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, or Medicaid, companies will cover the cost of lodging, but you will need to contact them in advance of your stay for pre-approval).
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 anywhere in the House. However, there are designated smoking areas located outside.
Bedrooms: Each family has a private bedroom.
Bathrooms: The West Pine facility has shared bathrooms, and the Park Avenue and West County facilities have private baths.
Kitchen Facilities: These are available for families to store food and prepare meals. Thanks to volunteers from the St. Louis 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: Limited transportation is available to and from the hospital and/or grocery store for families that do not have their own 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.
Forms & Helpful Links
Local Hospital Information
- St. Louis Children’s Hospital – 314-454-6101
- SSM Health Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital – 314-577-5697
- Mercy Children’s Hospital – 314-251-6180
- Shriner’s Hospital – 314-872-7806
- Barnes Jewish Hospital – 314-362-5574
- SSM Health St. Mary’s – 314-768-8750
- Ranken Jordan Pediatric Bridge Hospital – 314-872-6400
St. Louis Resources
- BJC Shuttle Service – West Pine Ronald McDonald House
- Explore St. Louis
- RMHC St. Louis Pinterest