Ronald McDonald House North Adelaide
When a child is sick, families need each other more than ever. Our Ronald McDonald House on Melbourne Street offers a sanctuary for regional families facing medical challenges in Adelaide.
Located just 198 meters from the Women’s and Children’s Hospital, our house provides a warm and supportive home-like environment. With 10 ensuite rooms and 10 two-bedroom apartments, as well as convenient on-site amenities, we offer families the comfort and support they need during a difficult time.
Leaving behind everything familiar to care for a sick or injured child is overwhelming. At our House, families discover a supportive community where shared experiences create a strong bond, and trained staff are available for support and connection.
At Ronald McDonald House on Melbourne Street, families have access to our amenities as well as a range of support services, designed to address the whole family’s needs.
Facilities include a gym, two outdoor play areas, recreation room, family lounges, laundry, children’s playroom, peace garden and fully equipped kitchen.
Breakfast provisions are provided each morning, as well as a fully stocked pantry to enable families to focus on what’s most important, their sick or injured child.
Twice a week we have our family dinner program, where our families come together to connect, share experiences and have a break.
We work closely with the Hospital School in the Women’s and Children’s Hospital to connect children into school, with teachers coming each weekday at 9:30am to collect any outpatients or siblings to go to school, dropping them off again at 3:30pm. This helps children keep connected to their learning, offers respite for parents and carers and allows siblings to maintain a sense of normalcy.
Our House offers different room types, ranging from fully self-contained two-bedroom units, rooms equipped with wheelchair accessibility, larger spaced rooms and standard rooms.
All rooms are fully furnished with an ensuite bathroom and a smart TV.
All linen is supplied, and laundry facilities are available throughout your stay. Rooms are serviced weekly.
There are two outdoor play areas at the House, one located with the self-contained two-bedroom units and the other in the main facility.
There is also a peace garden for quiet reflection located at 270 Melbourne Street which is perfect for unwinding after a long day of appointments.
Families can cater for themselves using our fully-equipped kitchen.
We offer food staples for families during their stay including full breakfast provisions of cereals, pancakes, toast, fruit, juices and yogurts.
Our pantry is stocked thanks to our wonderful community and corporate partners and is open for all families to utilise.
We are proud to have the support of Meals on Wheels who provide frozen meals for families who need to focus on their sick or injured child.
Families are provided with lockers to store pantry items as well as cold food and frozen food storage baskets located next to the community pantry.
Carparking for 1 car per family is provided during a family’s stay, with visitor car parks available when required. The Hospital is walking distance from the House and can be accessed by walking west on Melbourne Street.
Our House provides a transport service on Friday and some Sundays to transport families as required. This could be to a local shopping centre, or the beach or a visit to the Adelaide Hills.
Our team is always there, 24/7, 365 days a year.
Our Families Team are your main point of contact during your stay and can assist you with your State’s Patient Assisted Travel Scheme (PATS) forms, booking enquiries and referrals to other support services.
Our Volunteers are an important part of the House and play a variety of different roles. Our McCabbies can assist you with transport and are a wealth of knowledge on the area of Adelaide and surrounds.
Our Night Owls are our overnight volunteers who settle our house down in the evenings and provide comfort and compassion at the end of a long day. Our House Heros help keep our pantry stocked and house tidy and can assist with helping you find your way around our kitchen and shared areas. Our volunteers are here to assist you, but if they can’t help you, they are sure to find a staff member who can.
Keeping the family together can be extremely tough without support, which is why we offer accommodation for families with seriously ill or injured children who need to travel for their child’s treatment, or women going through high-risk pregnancies,
We try and accommodate the needs of families where we can, but this is always subject to availability.
Priority is given to families whose children have been recently diagnosed, seriously injured or who require emergency treatment, and families travelling long distances from their home.
If you need to travel to the Women’s and Children’s Hospital for your child’s care or treatment, accommodation can be arranged with RMHC SA by the Women’s and Children’s Hospital social work team, or through Northern Territory PATS.
If you have any questions about requesting accommodation or your eligibility, please don’t hesitate to contact us.
We understand that being away from home for medical treatment can put families under financial pressure. That’s why our accommodation is free for eligible families with sick or injured children or high-risk obstetric patients.
While our policy is to provide free accommodation, your stay at Ronald McDonald House will require you to complete the relevant Patient Assisted Travel Scheme (PATs) paperwork. Our friendly team are happy to work with you to complete this paperwork during your stay. More information can be found here PATS Website
