Ronald McDonald House of Long Island

The Ronald McDonald House of Long Island House is the 100th House of over 350 Ronald McDonald House programs around the world in over 40 countries - 181 are in the United States. Each House is an independent, not-for-profit 501(c) (3) corporation responsible for raising its own funds and maintaining the operation of the facility under the leadership of a volunteer Board of Directors.

The Ronald McDonald House of Long Island was opened in 1986 on the grounds of Northwell Health, formerly known as North Shore/Long Island Jewish Health System, adjacent to the Steven and Alexandra Cohen Children's Medical Center of New York (formerly Schneider Children’s Hospital), in New Hyde Park, New York. The House is situated on three-quarters of an acre of land donated by the Board of Trustees of the Long Island Jewish Medical Center.

The increasing demand for more rooms to help the hundreds of families who were being turned away coupled with the 1998 merger of the Long Island Jewish Medical Center and North Shore University Hospital created an even bigger need for the services that we provide. In the fall of 2001 the Board of Directors of the Ronald McDonald House of Long Island launched a $5 million capital campaign to support an expansion project that has more than doubled the size of the existing facility.

The result – a 44,000 square foot facility which includes 42 bedrooms, each with a private bath, children's play areas both inside and outdoors, a library, eight kitchen stations, two Kosher kitchens, a fully stocked food pantry, five laundry rooms and a Great Room where the families can socialize or watch television. For more privacy, there is a small TV room on the 2nd floor and an additional main floor lounge that is perfect for quiet activities.

We estimate that we can offer an airy, cheerful and comfortable place to 500 additional families in need of respite each year.

WHO WE SERVE
Since opening in 1986, the Ronald McDonald House of Long Island has served approximately 30,000 families from Long Island, throughout the United States and abroad. A majority of these families are from the New York metropolitan area as well as Nassau and Suffolk Counties.

Approximately 80% of the children whose families are referred to us are treated at the Steven and Alexandra Cohen Children's Medical Center of New York (formerly Schneider Children's Hospital), a two-minute walk from the House. Opened in 1983, it is the New York Metropolitan area's only facility designed exclusively for children as a regional, tertiary care children's hospital. The hospital is a leading regional resource providing specialized health services for acutely and chronically sick newborns, children and adolescents in both inpatient and outpatient settings. About 20% of the children served by the House are treated in other area hospitals.

Families are referred to the House through a hospital’s social work department. A triage approach is used with consideration given to the severity of the child’s illness, the availability of bedside sleeping arrangements for parents (particularly in pediatric units), length of stay and the family’s ability to travel to and from the hospital. With the additional space provided by the expansion, more rooms are available to sick children who need to stay near the hospital to recover from a major surgery or for outpatient treatments.