Skip to Main Content

Can we help you find something?

  • Events
  • About Us
  • News & Stories
  • Contact Us
Ronald McDonald House Charities of Chicagoland & NW Indiana
  • Get Involved
        • Family Embellishment
        • Engage Individually
        • Your time and your talents keep families together.

        • Engage Your Group
        • You and your community, working together to help families in need.

        • Engage Your Company
        • Actions and opportunities for companies who want to make a difference.

  • Donate
  • Get Involved
    • Engage Individually
    • Engage Your Group
    • Engage Your Company
  • Donate
  • Staying With Us
  • Our Houses & Family Rooms
  • Care Mobile
  • Staying With Us
  • Our Houses & Family Rooms
  • Care Mobile
  •  Events
  • About Us
  • News & Stories
  • Contact Us
Home Embellishment

Staying At Your Ronald McDonald House: A Home When You Need It

During the COVID-19 pandemic, we have made several updates to our House and Family Room program requirements to protect the health and safety of families. For current requirements, including rules for guests from outside of Illinois, please review the FAQ below.


To stay at a Ronald McDonald House, you must be referred by the hospital where your child is being treated. Please contact your hospital’s social worker to learn more about the referral process.

Our Houses are places of comfort and rest for families with children (21 and under) in active treatment at nearby hospitals. Our homes are designed for families with children who require:

  • Inpatient medical treatment
  • Scheduled and recurring outpatient medical visits that require overnight stays
  • Fetal healthcare or neonatal intensive care

Request a Room

Little girl in pink dress holds her mother and father's hands as they walk under a garden archway.
Pattern Blue Dots
Dad with 2 daughters

A Home Away From Home

In times of stress, you need good food, a community of people who understand, a comfortable night’s sleep, and a place to be with your family. That’s what you get at our Ronald McDonald Houses. Staying with us means:

  • A community of parents and families who understand what you’re going through
  • Freshly made meals provided by caring volunteers
  • Clean, comfortable spaces for daily living
  • Peaceful spaces to get away
  • A quiet place to rest

It might not be home. But we want you to feel like you have a place where you belong.

Our Amenities

We strive to make sure you have everything you need to live comfortably throughout your stay. Our amenities include:

  • Comfortable rooms with private or semi-private bathrooms
  • Spacious kitchens where you can make your own meals if you choose
  • Laundry facilities in the building
  • Elevators for easy handicap accessibility
  • Music, TV, and other entertainment sources

When you stay with us, it is our goal to make sure you are comfortable. Our volunteers and donors help make it a home.

Pattern Yellow Squiggles
Interior living space

How to Stay With Us

Ronald McDonald Houses are places of comfort specifically for pediatric children (ages 0 to 21) and their families who need to stay close while their child is in active treatment. Families must be referred to Ronald McDonald House by the hospital where their child is receiving treatment.

Please Note: Submitting an application does not guarantee a room as we regularly have a waitlist. We work to fill rooms as quickly as possible, but due to the wide variety of conditions and treatment plans our guest families are facing, we cannot determine room availability until an application is received.

If you have stayed at Ronald McDonald House within the last year and need to request a stay, please begin your application below.

Apply to Stay

 

Looking for additional financial, travel, or childcare resources or support during your child’s illness?

View Family Resources

Pattern Red Lines

Rules and Policies

To ensure the safety and comfort of all our guests, we ask that everyone follow these rules and regulations.

View Our Rules and Policies

Our Locations


House FAQs


    • Families with planned procedures for their children are invited to request a stay. In some instances, families with critical care cases may be prioritized.
    • Verified hospital health screenings are required for all guests prior to check-in at the House.
    • One meal will be provided to guests each day, with snacks as available.
    • Everyone must wear a facemask at all times when they are not in their private bedroom.
    • Common space use is limited and must follow social distancing rules.
  • We serve families of pediatric patients ages 21 years or younger in active treatment at local children’s hospitals. For the initial visit, the hospital social worker must refer the family to us to ensure they meet all the criteria.

  • To stay at a Ronald McDonald House, a family must first be referred by the hospital where their child is being treated. To find out which hospital social worker or case manager is assigned to the patient, please contact the hospital directly.

    Families are welcome to call the House for assistance in connecting with the appropriate hospital staff.

  • No, we welcome families at all income levels.

  • We suggest a donation of $10 per night, but no family is ever turned away based on their ability to contribute.

  • Our rooms range in size and can accommodate between three to five people. Parents, grandparents, siblings, and extended family are welcome to stay if they are actively supporting the patient or the needs of the immediate family, room capacity permitting. All guests over the age of 18 require a photo ID for overnight registration.

  • Our Houses have community kitchens fully equipped with plates, glasses, pots and pans, and silverware. We also have pantries full of non-perishable items that have been generously donated for families. Families can also request a small pantry space to store personal food items. Volunteer groups also visit the Houses daily to prepare home-cooked meals for the families.

  • Our Houses have laundry rooms with washing machines and dryers. The machines are available to all registered families and are free of charge. Detergent, fabric softener, and dryer sheets are provided at no cost.

  • No, your room will have fresh towels and bed linens when you check in.

  • Yes. Each House has an elevator to access upper floors and wheelchair accessible bathrooms. However, not all bedrooms are wheelchair accessible, so please share your needs with staff when discussing your stay.

  • Visitors are welcome from 9:00 a.m to 9:00 p.m. All visitors must sign in at the front desk in order to receive a visitor pass and must remain with their host family at all times. We ask that families limit visitors to four guests at a time.

  • All Ronald McDonald Houses throughout the world share a common purpose to keep families together with their hospitalized children. However, each House has a unique design, size, and character, depending on the needs of the hospital(s) and communities they serve.

  • Ronald McDonald House near Advocate Children’s Hospital is across the street from Advocate Children’s Hospital.

    Ronald McDonald House near Northwestern Medicine Central DuPage Hospital is located across the street from Northwestern Medicine Central DuPage Hospital and just a short drive from the Northwestern Medicine Proton Center in Warrenville.

    Ronald McDonald House near Loyola University Medical Center is a short shuttle ride to Loyola University Medical Center, six miles to Shriners Hospital in Chicago, and is also near Rush University Children’s Hospital and UIC Children’s Hospital.

    Ronald McDonald House near Lurie Children’s is a few blocks from Ann and Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago and the Shirley Ryan Ability Lab.

    Ronald McDonald House near UChicago Medicine Comer Children’s Hospital is a short shuttle ride or walk to UChicago Medicine Comer Children’s Hospital and La Rabida.

  • Our five Ronald McDonald Houses and three Ronald McDonald Family Rooms are special and very unique places, but all provide a comfortable, welcoming environment that is a home away from home. Each House offers living rooms, a kitchen, laundry rooms, and play areas for children. Each family is assigned a private bedroom only accessible by that family.

    View each of our Houses and Family Rooms for a photo tour.

    Our Houses & Family Rooms

Help People Find a Home When They Need It


Whenever a child needs care, we want them to have a comfortable, safe home. With your help, we can make it happen.

See Volunteer Opportunities Donate Now

Ronald McDonald House Charities of Chicagoland & NW Indiana Logo

Chapter Business Office
Tripp Avenue at Airmail Road
PO Box 7002
Hines, Il 60141

Contact Us

Houses & Services

  • Ronald McDonald Houses
  • Ronald McDonald Family Rooms
  • Ronald McDonald Care Mobile
  • Staying With Us

Get Involved

  • Get Involved
  • Donate
  • Events
  • Councils & Auxiliary Programs
  • Pop Tabs
  • Shop

About RMHCCNI

  • About Us
  • Careers
  • Relationship with McDonald’s
  • Financial Reports
  • Charitable Disclosures
  • News & Stories

© 2023 RMHC-CNIAll Rights Reserved.

  • Privacy Policy
  • Site Map
  • Charity Navigator
  • Guidestar
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • YouTube
  • LinkedIn

© RMHC

The following trademarks used herein are owned by McDonald's Corporation and its affiliates; McDonald's, Ronald McDonald House Charities, Ronald McDonald House Charities Logo, RMHC, Ronald McDonald House, Ronald McDonald Family Room, Ronald McDonald Care Mobile and Keeping families close.

RMHC-CNI is recognized as a public charity under Internal Revenue Code section 509(a) and has 501(c)(3) status. Donations to RMHC-CNI are deductible. Donors should consult their tax advisor for questions regarding deductibility. A copy of the RMHC-CNI determination letter is available upon request.

Back to top

Resize Fonts
Accessibility by WAH
Stay in the loop!

Join over 68,000 monthly subscribers to receive family stories, news, events, and inspiration on how you can make a difference.

Staying With Us