Housing Guidelines

Eligibility

  • Your child must be admitted to or have an appointment at Seattle Children's or one of Children's satellite clinics.
  • Your child must be 21 years old or younger.
  • The patient must have a permanent home address that is at least 45 miles away from the Seattle Ronald McDonald House.
  • Your stay must be at least 4 nights or more.
  • Parents, legal guardians, brothers and sisters, and any other immediate family members are welcome to stay. Anyone else must be part of the family's support system and must be approved by RMHC. We can only provide one room per family, and the maximum occupancy per room is six people.
  • Anyone under the age of 18 must be accompanied by an adult relative or legal guardian.
  • For your health, all families are screened to prevent infectious diseases being brought into the Ronald McDonald House.
  • The safety of our families is very important.  Please speak with a Housing Coordinator if anyone planning to stay with your family has a restraining order or no contact order or has been charged with any of the following crimes:  homicide, assault, kidnapping, sex offenses, harassment, arson, burglary, theft, family offenses, obscenity, pornography, or exploitation of children.


How to request housing

  • Up to two weeks before your arrival, contact the Housing Office at (206) 838-0610 to get your information into our system.
  • 24 hours before your arrival, our staff will call you to let you know if a room is available.*
  • If your family comes in on an emergency basis, please call our Housing Office as soon as possible.

* We do not take advance reservations because we never know how long a child may need to be in the hospital. Because of this, we are not able to reserve or guarantee a room more than 24 hours in advance.

 

Housing fees

  • Families are asked to pay $25 per night however no family is turned away if they are not able to pay.
  • If your child has medical coupons or Medicaid, please contact our Housing Office at (206) 838-0610 for information on how your Medicaid broker may pay for your housing fees.  In most cases, you will need to call your broker in advance of your stay to determine eligibility. 

More about the House

Three buildings comprise the Seattle Ronald McDonald House. Two buildings are communal Houses (House A and House C) with private bedrooms and bathrooms. The third building (House B) has 10 self-sufficient apartments reserved for families with children who have received a bone marrow transplant. The following description does not apply to the Bone Marrow Apartments.

  • Each family has their own bedroom with two beds, private bath, telephone, television and DVD player and Internet connection.
  • Shared communal spaces include:  kitchen and dining room, large living rooms, a computer room with Internet access, a library, free laundry facilities, a teen room, indoor and outdoor play areas and access to an exercise room and theater.  In the Kitchen, each family is provided with their own kitchen cabinet and refrigerator space.  The kitchen is fully stocked with cooking appliances utensils.
  • We provide all your towels, blankets and other linens, cleaning supplies and  paper products.  We often have basic food items and toiletries available. We also have cribs and breast pumps available for check-out. We can accommodate families with wheelchairs.  We do not provide wheelchairs, strollers, car seats or baby monitors.
  • Families actively shared in keeping the House clean and tidy.  Families are responsible for keeping their room in good condition, cleaning up after their family in all areas of the House, cleaning their linens as needed and doing an assigned chore on a daily basis.
  • Before checking out, families must clean their room so that it is ready for the next family.
  • Check-in time is between 9 a.m. and 8 p.m.  Families are required to check out by noon.  

If you have additional questions, please contact the Housing Office at (206) 838-0610.