Expanded facility serves critically ill children and their families

By Robin Shepherd, Special to the Town Crier

Executive Director Honey Meir-Levi points to the ‘Stars’ of the newly reopened Ronald McDonald House at Stanford - the donors who supplied the funding.

Eight-year-old Julie Rodriguez almost lost her heart, quite literally, when she took a turn for the worse after undergoing surgery to receive an artificial pulmonary valve last summer. Cardiomyopathy, damage to the heart muscle, took hold of Julie’s heart and put her life in jeopardy.

This twist of fate brought Julie to Stanford, where she could be treated by doctors at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital. Like other organ transplant candidates, Julie is waiting until a heart becomes available. The Ronald McDonald House at Stanford has become a home away from home for Julie, her parents and her three siblings, who have traveled from Albuquerque, N.M.

The Rodriguez family shared their experiences of the Ronald McDonald House at Stanford with hundreds of people who attended the Dec. 6 grand reopening event, which marked the completion of the facility’s renovation and expansion. It is located opposite the Stanford Shopping Center at 520 Sand Hill Road in Palo Alto.

The new Ronald McDonald House will be able to provide support for more than 2,000 families a year - more than double its previous capacity. Prior to its expansion, hundreds of eligible families with very ill children had to be turned away due to a lack of space.

According to Dr. Harvey Cohen, chief of staff at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital, “The hospital’s expansion of services to children with highly complex illnesses increases the need for a home away from home, and a motel room is not a home environment. The Ronald McDonald House serves this need incredibly well.”

“Our new Ronald McDonald House would not have been possible without the support of hundreds of community volunteers, the generosity of our donors, and the unwavering commitment of an exceptional community and board of directors,” said Honey Meir-Levi, executive director at Ronald McDonald House at Stanford.

Eight new rooms are specially designed to provide medically secure immune environments - essential to the well-being of children like Julie who are undergoing advanced transplant or cancer therapies. Along with a library and a media room, a new great room provides a much-needed community gathering area for families. The kitchen has both individual and group facilities for food storage, preparation and cooking.

Families staying at Ronald McDonald House at Stanford benefit from precooked dinners donated and delivered by the local McDonald’s operator on Fridays, and by restaurants in the Avenir Restaurant Group on Mondays. Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have delivered soup to the families for more than a decade.

“The house’s common areas are very conducive to interaction within and between families during meal and activity times,” said Meir-Levi.

Inspiration for the Computer Learning for Ill Kids (CLIK) Center was borne out of one teenager’s struggle with cystic fibrosis. He loved computers and once joked with house staff members that no matter how tired he was, he could always click a mouse. CLIK Center provides computers and Internet access for schoolwork and online communication with family and friends.

A courtyard with a small amphitheater opens to the sky and welcomes children to enjoy the outdoors. “People from the community with special talents often call and volunteer to come and entertain the children here,” Meir-Levi said.

The Activity Room has unique built-ins, including a “skateboard bench” for teens and a combination play structure and life-size puppet theater for younger children.

More than 70 percent of families served are of low to moderate income. Approximately 25 percent come from out of state or from other countries. The cost per night for a family is $85. Families with the means to do so are asked to pay $10 per night, and the remaining $75 per night comes from public and private donations to the non-profit organization.

For more information about Ronald McDonald House at Stanford, logon to www.ronaldhouse-stanford.org or call 470-6000.