Children’s Hospital New Orleans and Ronald McDonald House Charities of South Louisiana (RMHC-SLA) announced plans to jointly fund a new, expanded family housing space on the Children’s Hospital campus. The $6 million project will expand the current Ronald McDonald House New Orleans program, bringing much needed housing to families from across the state and region whose children receive vital medical services in New Orleans.
Upon completion of renovations to the new housing facilities, RMHC-SLA will relocate its current 15-bedroom home located at 4403 Canal Street to the new space, which nearly doubles the available accommodations for families with an additional nine family rooms.
“Ronald McDonald House Charities of South Louisiana keeps families close to each other and the medical care their child needs, by providing free accommodations for the family,” said Cheryl Egan, president of RMHC-SLA’s Board of Directors. “For a sick child, having family nearby is critical to the healing process. We are thrilled that the joint effort with Children’s Hospital will allow us to provide on-campus housing while nearly doubling our impact for families traveling to our area for pediatric medical care.”
Ronald McDonald House Charities provides a home-away-from-home for families of seriously ill children and provides programs that give comfort, compassion, and care to children and their families.
The renovation of the future home of Ronald McDonald House New Orleans is part of a massive campus expansion project at Children’s Hospital that reflects a $300 million investment.
“At Children’s Hospital, we’re building a total environment of health centered on delivering expert care for kids with an extraordinary patient and family experience,” said John R. Nickens IV, president and CEO of Children’s Hospital New Orleans. “The partnership with Ronald McDonald House Charities of South Louisiana will create expanded access to housing for those in need, providing peace of mind and respite for families, on our park-like campus that is specially designed for children and families. Our goal is to help alleviate some of the stress and to be a resource for families.”
Over the coming months, Children’s Hospital and RMHC-SLA will work together to formalize plans for the joint family housing initiative with construction slated to begin in 2020.