Ronald McDonald House Charities® of the Bluegrass: Keeping Families Close
For more than 40 years, Ronald McDonald House Charities of the Bluegrass has been dedicated to one simple but powerful mission: to keep families close when a child is receiving medical care. We believe that healing happens best when families can remain together, and our programs remove the non-medical barriers that often make that difficult.
Our cornerstone program, the Ronald McDonald House in Lexington, offers a welcoming “home-away-from-home” for families whose children are hospitalized at Kentucky Children’s Hospital and other area medical facilities. Families traveling long distances—on average 100 miles from home—find not only a place to sleep, but also daily meals, laundry facilities, transportation assistance, and the support of others walking the same journey. In 2024 alone, we provided more than 7,200 nights of stay for 462 families, saving them over $1.27 million in lodging and food costs.
The need is growing. Pediatric capacity at Kentucky Children’s Hospital has increased by 200% in recent years, and more than 1,160 Kentucky families have been turned away from the House in the past five years due to lack of space. To address this, RMHC of the Bluegrass is actively planning a larger facility that will add 40–60 more units, serve an additional 4,000–5,000 individuals each year, and provide more than 21,000 meals annually. This expansion will save Kentucky families an estimated $4.2 million in lodging and food costs, while creating 25 new full-time jobs in our community.
Beyond the House, our programs extend into the hospital itself. The Ronald McDonald Family Room at Kentucky Children’s Hospital welcomed more than 8,500 families in 2024, providing a quiet space for parents and caregivers to rest, shower, grab a meal, or simply recharge without leaving the hospital. Our Ronald McDonald Care Mobile, operated in partnership with the University of Kentucky College of Dentistry, brings critical preventive dental care and education to children across the region. Since its launch in 2005, untreated dental decay among Kentucky children has decreased by 23%.
The impact of these programs goes beyond basic needs. Research shows that when families can stay together during a child’s hospitalization, parents are more engaged in their child’s care plan, stress levels are reduced, and children benefit emotionally as well as physically. For families under immense pressure, RMHC provides comfort, stability, and a community of support.
Physicians and healthcare professionals are at the heart of this story. More than 80% of the families we serve are referred by Kentucky Children’s Hospital, and many more come to us from Baptist Health Lexington, Shriner’s Hospital for Children, and other local medical partners. Our services complement the excellent clinical care these families receive, ensuring that non-medical stressors—such as where to sleep, how to afford meals, or how to stay close to a critically ill child—do not become obstacles to healing.
As we look to the future, RMHC of the Bluegrass is committed to growing alongside the medical community to meet the needs of children and families. With the support of partners like the Lexington Medical Society Foundation, we will continue to keep families close, strengthen resilience, and help ensure that every child has the best chance of healing surrounded by the love of family.