Embedded Files
Whenever a child is sick, their parents want to be by their side. In critical situations, where the child needs to be in the hospital, families will look for anyway to be close to them, no matter the cost.
The Southern Appalachian Ronald McDonald House, located in Johnson City, TN, aims to help families any way they can.
“We provide a temporary home away from home for parents of critically ill children,” Director of Special Events & Community Relations, Tina Ison said.
“At this location, 98% of the people we serve have newborn babies, placed in an incubator that were born too early. We just want to give them a comfortable place to be, while the child is here. It’s a sense of normalcy while they’re going through a critical time.”
Located on the property of Niswonger Children’s Hospital, the house serves people throughout the region. Ison stated, 56% of the people served are from Southwest VA, 28% from Northeast TN, 9% from Eastern KY and 7% from other miscellaneous states.
One misconception about the house, is people believe only those in Johnson City can use the service. In fact, to use the house, people have to live at least 25 miles away from the Johnson City. Living in the city, it’s more feasible to drive to the hospital, allowing the Ronald McDonald House to cover a wider area.
Ison stated their house serves a 125 mile radius, but people don’t get the message, of who they aim to help.
“We’re here for the people who are 3+ hours away in Southwest Virginia,” she said. “The highest users of the house [are from] Southwest Virginia, followed by Sullivan County [in TN]. We want to get in those areas, and show we’re helping their neighbor, to hopefully get their support, and help.”
The families in the region the Ronald McDonald House serves, are not high income families, which Ison stated doesn’t affect if they are allowed to stay in the house.
“If we weren’t here, most of our families would have to sleep in a car, if they had one,” she said. “For the sake of the child, we want to keep them close together, so they’re not separated in a time of crisis.”
The house has a 21-day stay limit, which is more of a basic rule they follow, as they rarely meet full capacity. The house has 10 rooms, with 1-2 rooms being vacant a majority of the time, Ison said.
Tina Ison, Director of Special Events & Community Relations, Southern Appalachian Ronald McDonald House
If they ever do reach full capacity, and have a waitlist, she said the staff will take a number of variables into consideration, like distance from home to the hospital, but that may not matter.
“If a child has a very severe [condition], we’re not going to ask the family to check out, period,” Ison said. “No matter how long they’ve been here. If the baby is doing okay, we may ask them to check out, but to call back in a week. If a room opens up, we’ll bring them right back in.”
While families stay at the house, a camaraderie is made between families. They’re not all going through the same situation, but they’re dealing with something going wrong in their child, she stated.
Ison beamed when explaining how the families bond with the staff – comprised of four full-time and five part-time employees. The staff witness tears of sadness, and excitement after getting to hold their child for the first time in six weeks.
“We watch these families leave and take their healthy baby home,” she said. “When they leave they tell us, ‘We can’t thank you enough, because if it wasn’t for you, we wouldn’t know what to do. It wouldn’t be possible to be here with our child.’ That makes it all worth it, because we know we’re doing something positive in our community.”
When talking about the success stories, Ison mentioned they routinely hear back from families that stayed at the Ronald McDonald House. It could be a Facebook message, stopping by after a visit with their doctor or just to make an unplanned visit, like a child who stayed there 15 years ago recently did.
Wish List Items
Wish List Items
Miscellaneous Items
Miscellaneous Items
- Small trash bags
- Dryer sheets
- Disinfectant spray
- Window Cleaner
- All-purpose cleaner
- Copy paper & postage stamps
Kitchen Needs
Kitchen Needs
- Breakfast Cereals
- Fresh Fruit
- Frozen Orange Juice
- Snack Foods
- Teabags
- Napkins
Ison said, these families want to give back and help future families that may deal with similar situations. People who stay at the house know there is a wish list of the essentials and snacks the Southern Appalachian Ronald McDonald House will always accept.
She said these families will go into their communities to gather items to donate back to the house. One option families routinely take part in is collection soda can tabs, which the house will recycle for money to buy foods and goods to restock.
Being in a lower income region, Ison stated there are many ways for people to help outside of monetarily, like their time. People could volunteer at the house, or start a collection drive to gather items located on their wish list.
“If a child has a very severe [condition], we’re not going to ask the family to check out, period.” - Ison
“If a child has a very severe [condition], we’re not going to ask the family to check out, period.” - Ison
While informing those outside of Johnson City, are the ones they help, it's not the only misconception they face. Most confusion comes from their relationship with McDonald's
“We are simply their charity of choice,” Ison said. “They do not fund us 100% and neither does the hospital. McDonald’s will do fundraising events to support us throughout the year. As far as our bills go, that’s something only we focus on.”
The Southern Appalachian Ronald McDonald House, has 56 McDonald’s locations in the 125 mile radius that it serves.
Anyone can help, from donating time, goods and can tabs, to giving money at a local McDonald’s. Ison says they appreciate any help people can give.
The ones who appreciate it the most, are the families that receive help, the ones who only want to focus on the health of their child, and just want to return to a sense of normalcy.
The Southern Appalachian Ronald McDonald House, strives to get them there. They can only do it with our help.
For more information, visit the Souther Appalachian Ronald McDonald House's website: https://www.rmhsa.org/
Google Sites
Report abuse