RONALD MCDONALD HOUSE CHARITIES OF OKLAHOMA CITY INC
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Mission Statement
Ronald McDonald House Charities® of Oklahoma City benefits children by providing a home-away-from-home for families with seriously ill or injured children receiving medical treatment in the Oklahoma City area.
About This Cause
Keeping Families Together and Helping Children Heal Since 1984 For children facing a serious medical crisis, nothing seems scarier than not having their mom and dad close by for love and support. Our Ronald McDonald House® and Ronald McDonald Family Room® provide a "home-away-from-home" for families so they can stay close by their hospitalized child at no cost. Our programs are built on the simple idea that nothing else should matter when a family is focused on healing their child -- not where they can afford to stay, where they will get their next meal or where they will lay their head at night to rest. No one plans for something like this, and often it happens so quickly that families are overwhelmed with the situation and decisions about their child’s medical care. The simplest of gestures can help families find the strength, courage and hope needed to care for their child. We believe that when a child is hospitalized the love and support of family is as powerful as the strongest medicine prescribed. Studies show that a restful place to sleep, a home-cooked meal, and access to laundry facilities for fresh clothes to wear, all help reduce parental stress and improve their ability to cope during medical crisis. The most severe parental stress is role alteration -- a sense of helplessness in those accustomed to providing safety and advocacy. Non-medical out-of-pocket costs for travel, food and lodging; dependent care, diminished wages, and incidental expenses can create significant financial and psychological burdens on families -- in some cases as great as the medical out-of-pocket costs. Pediatric critical illness and injury is stressful for the entire family. Siblings of seriously ill children experience stress due to changes in parental behavior and care by a substitute caregiver. Often their needs can be neglected. Programs and activities geared to the siblings of hospitalized children help them cope with the uncertainty of their situation, as well as allow them to access "normal" activities like meals, laundry, arts and crafts activities. Ronald McDonald House Charity programs address primary needs: * The House places the family in proximity of the healthcare facility * The closeness of the House enables family members to engage in direct communication with the healthcare team * The support from House staff, volunteers and other guest families provides support, encouragement and comfort while the family is at the House Perhaps most importantly, improved parental adjustment reduces the patient's stress and increases their ability to cope with their illness or injury. Providing space for children, adolescents and families that responds to the opposing needs of privacy and social support is a unique offering of the Ronald McDonald House and Ronald McDonald Family Room programs.