Guest Information

Eligibility

Rooms are available on a first come, first serve basis to families of seriously ill children who meet the following criteria:

1. Patient/child must be under 21 years of age.
2. Patient must be undergoing active medical treatment .
3. Patient must live/reside outside a 10 mile radius of the Long Branch
   or New Brunswick House.
4. The family must have a referral/verification from their designated healthcare
   facility (nurse, social worker, doctor, etc.).

Exclusionary Criteria

1. Any family member who has been exposed to chicken pox, measles, influenza within 3 weeks prior to registration will not be allowed to stay
2. Families of patients no longer receiving treatment will have 24 hours to check out.

Fees

Each family is asked to contribute $10 per night toward the cost of their stay, which includes a room, bathroom, towels, bedding, and telephone. To maintain the nominal room rate, families are responsible for their own housekeeping. Families are not turned away based on finances. Families are asked to pay upon check-out.

Hours

Families are asked to register from 9am – 8pm daily. Once registered, families can come and go as they please 24 hours a day.

How to Reserve a Room

Arrangements should be made for the Long Branch House in advance by calling 732-222-8755; and for the New Brunswick House by calling 732-249-1222.

Referrals are usually made by designated health professionals in area hospitals (nurses, social workers, doctors, etc.). The family may call directly themselves, in which case verification of a hospital admission must occur before admission. When a referral is called in we ask for some basic information about the patient (name, date of birth, reason for stay, name of hospital and unit where patient is receiving treatment, etc.) and the family (name, address, phone number, etc.).

Registration

The Long Branch Ronald McDonald House has 8 bedrooms (one room per family with a maximum capacity of four/five family members) and the New Brunswick House has 6 bedrooms available on a first-come, first-served basis to families who have children receiving medical treatment at nearby hospitals. Patients must be under 21 years of age. Families are asked to please register at the House before 8:00 pm if at all possible. We ask the families to register as early in the afternoon as possible, so as not to disturb the quiet of the evening. Once you have checked in, we will need about a half an hour of your time for a brief orientation and tour.

Families are welcomed to visit the House before making a decision to stay.

Accommodations

• Long Branch has 8 themed bedrooms with private bath
• New Brunswick has 6 themed bedrooms with private bath
• Phone with voicemail in each bedroom
• Full Kitchen with two of each appliance and well stocked pantry
• Food storage for each family
• Laundry facilities with supplies
• Comfortable living room
• The Long Branch House has a library with new computers; New Brunswick has new computers in living room
• Playroom
• Free parking on House grounds
• Enclosed yard with playground area, gazebo (in Long Branch only), and covered porch for relaxing
• 24 hour staffing
• Lots of support from our staff, volunteers and other guests
• For special accommodation needs please call before your arrival, for the Long Branch House call 732-222-8755, for the New Brunswick House call 732-249-1222.
• The House does not have a full-time housekeeping staff. Guests are responsible for keeping the House clean and treating it with care.
• The Long Branch Ronald McDonald House has 8 themed bedrooms; our smallest can accommodate up to three people and the larger rooms no more than five people.
• The New Brunswick Ronald McDonald House has 6 themed bedrooms; our smallest can accommodate up to three people and the larger rooms no more than six people.
• Visitors are welcome from 9am to 9pm daily. All visitors must check in through the office.
• We do our best to accommodate everyone, but sometimes we are full and have to turn families away. Once we are full, families are put on a waiting list.
• This is a communal living environment and it is very important to us that families respect each other at all times.
• Families are asked to wash their hands carefully at all times. Good hand washing is essential to minimize the risk of infection.

General Rules and Policies of the House

These are simple rules that must be followed for the comfort of all:

• Illegal drugs, alcoholic beverages, firearms and weapons of any kind are prohibited.
• No smoking in the House.
• All eating/drinking must be confined to the kitchen/dining area.
• Proper attire includes shirt and shoes in all common areas.
• No medical treatment may be administered in the House. Arrangements and treatment sites are the responsibility of the families and the medical professionals ordering the treatment.
• Each family is responsible for cleaning their own rooms, dishes, laundry, and preparing their own meals, and helping to keep the common areas clean.
• Solicitation of any type is prohibited .
• Activity should be curtailed ( quiet time ) between 10 pm - 8 am for the benefit of all the guests .
• Room occupancy is limited by room size. All persons staying in a room must be registered.
• No pets may be brought into the House.
• Children must be supervised at all times by an adult .
• The Ronald McDonald House is not responsible for personal belongings left in the House,
  on the property, or in automobiles
• Due to the high demand for the use of the Ronald McDonald House, we have a 30 day review policy