McDonald's Kinderhilfe Stiftung

Parents can find a temporary home at the Ronald McDonald House while their seriously ill children are being treated at the University Clinics for Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine Homburg. 14 apartments are available for families. The families can retreat to the apartments and recharge their batteries for the care of their young patients.

A communal kitchen and other cozy lounges make the house a place where parents can find support and exchange ideas with other affected families. Every year, 230 families find a temporary home in a difficult emergency situation. Those responsible at the clinic decide which families move into the house. The decisive factor for admission to the house is not the distance, but the type and severity of the child's illness.

The parents' house is occupied by all wards of the children's hospital (intensive care unit, cancer ward, cardiac ward, general pediatrics, premature infant ward, eye clinic and pediatric surgery). By the end of 2018, around 4,500 families will have stayed overnight in the parents' house since it opened in December 2005. Modernization of the parents' apartments is therefore urgently required. New furniture and mattresses will be purchased that meet the requirements for families of seriously ill children. This ranges from disability-friendly to child-friendly. Another aspect is practicality, as families sometimes live in the Ronald McDonald House for months at a time, so they need a familiar and practical living space. This includes, for example, a comfortable pull-out sofa bed in case another family member needs to stay overnight. The furniture must meet high standards for hygienic cleaning. The wooden floors, ceilings and walls will also be repainted. The modernization of the parents' apartments takes place during ongoing operations and is carried out in stages throughout the year so that the apartments can be made available to families with seriously ill children as quickly as possible.

Every year, around 300 families find a temporary home at the Ronald McDonald House Homburg while their seriously ill children are being treated at the university hospitals in Homburg.