What Families Can Expect

Staying at the Ronald McDonald House
Because families who stay at the Reno Ronald McDonald House will deal with a variety of stresses and anxieties, we do our best to cultivate a home-away-from-home. Here, families find respite from hospital tensions and gain support from others going through similar experiences.

Referrals
To stay at the Reno Ronald McDonald House, families must obtain a referral through the social workers and nurses where the pediatric patient is receiving treatment. To be eligible a family must live 30 or more miles from the House and have a child aged 21 or under receiving medical treatment. Please discuss further eligibility requirements with a social worker or case manager. Because of the fluctuation of guests and our limited number of rooms, a referral does not guarantee availability of rooms.

Check In
Once obtaining a referral, families can check-in between 2:30 p.m. and 7:30 any day.  On the day of your arrival please call to confirm a room is available. We can only provide one room per family. Because we do not know how long a child may require care, we are not able to guarantee a room more than 24 hours in advance. New families will receive a House tour when checking in.

Encouraged Donation
We encourage families to make a $10 donation per night but have never turned a family away based on their inability to donate. Our Adopt-A-Night program, funded by donors, reduces or eliminates the financial burden for those guests who cannot afford the donation.

Check Out
Families must clean their rooms before checking out. A list of the tasks will be given to families during the check in process. Guests are required to come to the office when they are ready to check out and return the room keys.

Basic House Rules
All rules provided at check in. 

• Parents, legal guardians, brothers and sisters, and other immediate family members are welcome to stay. Other guests must be approved prior to staying. The maximum occupancy per room is five people.

• Children under the age of 18 may not be left in the house alone and must be accompanied by an adult at all times.

• For your health, and the health of the children we serve, all families are screened to prevent infectious diseases being brought into the House.

• Visitors are welcome at the house from 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. and can use House common areas but may not go to the guest bedrooms.

• Smoking or alcoholic beverages are not allowed. A smoking area is available outside.

• No pets allowed, except for service animals.

• Food and drink is restricted to the kitchen and dining area only, unless necessary for a patient’s medical needs.

• All families are required to clean and maintain their own rooms on a regular basis.