How to Apply: Housing Guidelines

To be eligible for housing at the Seattle Ronald McDonald House

Your child must be admitted to or have an appointment at Seattle Children's Hospital and Regional Medical Center 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 60 miles away from the Seattle Ronald McDonald House.
Housing can be requested for parents, legal guardians, brothers and sisters, and any other immediate family members. 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, VISITORS AND STAFF IS VERY IMPORTANT.

If the following applies to anyone who would like to stay with us, please speak with our Family Services Manager at (206) 838-0609 before requesting housing.

Anyone in your family has or is in the process of getting a restraining order, no contact order, protection order, or court order or has concerns of this kind.
Anyone planning to stay at the Ronald McDonald House has been subject to investigation, has been charged with or found guilty of any of the following crimes: homicide, assault, kidnapping, sex offenses, harassment, arson, burglary, theft, family offenses, obscenity, pornography, or exploitation of children.

We will not provide housing to anyone who may place other families, staff, or volunteers in danger or create disruption or stress to the House.

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.
Office hours are Monday to Friday, 9:00 a. m. to 4:30 p.m.
24 hours before your arrival, our staff will call you to let you know if a room is available. *

* Most of the families staying with us have a child who is admitted to the hospital, and they often do not know in advance when their child will be discharged. Because of this, we are not able to make reservations or guarantee a room more than 24 hours in advance. With our two Houses, we hope to have rooms available for all eligible families.

We understand that many famiiles are not able to plan ahead for their stays because they need to come to Seattle on an urgent or emergency basis. If this is your situation, please call our Housing Office at (206) 838-0610 as soon as you can.

Housing Fees

Families are asked to pay $20 per night.
No family is turned away if they are not able to pay.
If you know that your child has medical coupons or is eligible for Medicaid funding, please contact your Medical Transportation Office well in advance to see if they will cover your housing costs. Our Housing Office, (206) 838-0610, can provide you with phone numbers.

What You Need to Know About the House

Three buildings comprise the Seattle Ronald McDonald House—two buildings are communal Houses with private bedrooms. The third building has self-sufficient apartments reserved for families with children who have received a bone marrow transplant. (If you need Bone Marrow Apartment housing, please speak to your hospital social worker. 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. All families share a large kitchen and dining room. This area is stocked with dishes, cooking utensils and some basic food items. Each family has their own space to store their food. Each House also has large living rooms, a library, computer rooms with Internet access, free laundry facilities, and indoor and outdoor play areas.
We provide all your towels, blankets and other linens, cleaning supplies, paper products and basic food items. We also have cribs and breast pumps available for check-out. We can accommodate families with wheelchairs. Families should bring their own clothing, toiletries and any additional food items. We do not provide wheelchairs, strollers, car seats or baby monitors.
Every family is responsible for treating the House with care and helping with the general upkeep of the House. Families are responsible for keeping their room in good condition, cleaning up after their family in all communal areas of the House, laundering their linens as needed, doing an assigned chore on a daily basis, and cleaning their room at check-out, so that the room is ready for the next family. Our families' participation in the House helps make our House a home and helps keep our housing costs very low.

Check-in time is 12 noon to 8:00 p.m. Because of our staffing and because we do not wish to disturb sleeping residents, we cannot check families into the House after 8 p.m.

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

HOUSING APPLICATION (Download PDF)
Frequently Asked Questions