Ronald McDonald House expands to double support for families with sick kids at CHEO

A new expansion at the Ronald McDonald House in Ottawa on Smyth Road is helping more families navigate that in the comfort of what is meant to be a home away from home while their children receive treatment at CHEO.

It’s an unimaginable situation for families and parents to learn their child is critically ill and having to travel to another city to support them. A new expansion at the Ronald McDonald House in Ottawa on Smyth Road is helping more families navigate that with the comforts of home while their children receive treatment at CHEO. The official expansion celebrated on Monday with a tour and speeches outside the building.

It’s a building Michelle Neal knows well after a moment that shattered her world: finding out her daughter was sick. “You don’t really focus on the other needs that you have, which is, eat, sleep,” she said in an interview with CTV News Ottawa. Grace, who was 18 months old at the time, was diagnosed with neuroblastoma, a type of cancer that forms in certain nerve tissues.

The family from the northern Ontario community of Iroquois Falls had to travel nine hours away to receive the treatment Grace needed at CHEO. They would spend Christmas and New Years at the Ronald McDonald House, living for a total of four months through her treatment. “What the Ronald McDonald House did was calm everything that was traumatic going on in the background and just allowed us to be present for Grace while they took care of us,” she said.

Ronald McDonald House CEO Kate Horton says the newly expanded facility is meant to be a “home away from home.” “Hopefully gives them some hope and comfort and the courage and strength to continue on,” she said. The number of rooms has doubled from 14 to 36 and will allow 13,000 families to stay each year.

Horton explains that the one- and two-bedroom suites have many accessibility features for families due to the nature of the stay. New family-friendly focused amenities have been added like game and movie rooms, especially thought of with teenagers in mind, and a separate living room space with toys for younger children. There’s also an expanded kitchen and dining area.

When staying at the Ronald McDonald House, families can have meals prepared, but in the newly expanded space, they can also prepare their own more easily. “The kitchens, in particular, can provide a space for families to bring in their own food, make their home cooked meals just like they would at home,” she said. “Share those meals sometimes with other families, which is a really special experience.”

The $24.6 million dollar expansion was funded by federal and provincial grants along with donors. It eliminates the waitlist for families that wish to stay and can help lead to positive outcomes, explains CHEO CEO Dr. Vera Etches. “Children need their parents to be well to have their best caring journey and parents that are stressed about trying to travel and afford somewhere to be close to their child – it’s really exactly what this house does is avoid that stress," Etches said.

Today, Zach Neal says Grace is cancer-free, and says the new space enhances the vital support that was already here. “Now coming here, it’s a whole different environment for families to heal, families to process,” Zach Neal said.