 29
Years and 30,000 Families
Ronald McDonald House Charities® of Alabama, Inc. (RMHCA) is committed to enhancing the lives of children and their families, with a primary emphasis on facilitating access to pediatric health care for residents of Alabama and adjacent states.
RMHCA provides a safe, affordable, supportive “home-away-from-home” for sick or injured children and their families when they travel to Birmingham for medical treatment.
Why Do We Need the Birmingham Ronald McDonald House?
Alabama has one of the highest rates of pediatric morbidity and mortality.
- More than 45,500 Alabama children have one or more disabilities.
- Alabama has the 2nd highest infant mortality rate in the nation.
- The number of low weight births has been increasing in Alabama over the last decade.
- Alabama has the 7th highest rate of preventable teen deaths and preventable accidents.
In Alabama, the human burden associated with these statistics is compounded by barriers to access to pediatric specialty care. Fully 75% of Alabama’s children do not live in a county offering comprehensive pediatric specialty care and must travel to receive needed services.
Birmingham’s Only Affordable Temporary Housing Facility for Sick Children and Their Families
Twenty-four (24) hours a day, 365 days each year, the doors of the Ronald McDonald House open to welcome families of sick or injured children.
On any
night, open the door of the House. You probably will find 41 families
and approximately 100 individual guests resting in cozy family bedrooms,
cooking, laundry, recreational and internet facilities, and welcoming
dinners prepared by House volunteers. Birmingham’s Ronald
McDonald House charges just $5 to $10 per night for services that
cost more than $50 per night to provide. Last year, the House provided
1,160 guest stays; an estimated 30,000 stays since
the House opened in 1979.
Families generally are eligible to stay at the House if:
- They live outside of Jefferson County (exceptions may be made under special circumstances).
- They have a child 18 years old or younger who is in Birmingham to receive inpatient or outpatient services for any diagnosis or injury.
- They are referred by any Birmingham-area health care provider that is treating the child.
The Families that We Serve
Despite enormous changes
in medical care delivery over the past 29 years, the mission of
Ronald McDonald House Charities®
remains straightforward and constant. Our success in fulfilling
this mission is measured by the families we serve and the number
of affordable guest stays we provide. These are summarized in the
table below.
Perhaps, more significantly, our success may be measured in the smiles of Allison and her mother or in the comments of our guests.
Basic Demographics
of Ronald McDonald House Guests: 2006
Total # of Guest Stays in 20056 |
1323 |
# Guest Stays by Families from Alabama |
1152 |
# Guest Stays by Families from Outside Alabama |
171 |
# States Represented by RMHCA Guests |
13 |
# Stays by Guest Families from other Countries |
2 |
# People Who Spent > 1 Night at RMH |
Approx. 1,975 |
# Pediatric Patients Who Stayed Overnight at RMH with their Family |
507 patients |
|
|
Average Length of Stay |
7.5 nights |
Long -Stay Guests (More than 3 weeks) |
9% of all Guests |
% of Nights of Service Used by Long Stay Guests |
60% |
Longest Continuous Stay in 2006 |
238 nights |
% of Guest Families with > 1 stay in 20046 |
13% |
Range of # Stays for Multiple Stay Families |
2 -22 stays |
|
|
% of Guest Families with Household Income less than $40,000 |
76% |
% of Guest Families with Household Income less than $20,000 |
47% |
*Note: There is no income limit on who may stay at the House
Financial Information
In 2006,
the annual budget of the Ronald McDonald House was just over $600,000,
including the value of certain donated goods and services.
- Fees paid by Ronald McDonald House guests contribute less than 10% of needed operating funds.
- Generally, more than 90% of the funds (other than guest fees) required to operate the House came from local sources, including programs sponsored by and in local McDonald’s restaurants.
To view our annual report click
here (pdf).
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