House Of Hope The Ronald Mcdonald House Gives Families A Place To Stay While Children Get Medical Care

The oversized stuffed bears in the large living room of the Ronald McDonald House are starting to look worn. Children love to climb on them, sit on their laps, and get a large fuzzy hug to help ease their troubled minds.

Worries abound in this house, but so does hope. Families who have traveled to Spokane to get care for their critically ill children at the hospitals down the street pack the 14 bedrooms on most days.

The house, located at 1015 W. Fifth, is one of two Ronald McDonald houses in Washington state. The other, in Seattle, caters only to families of cancer patients. In the United States, 145 Ronald McDonald houses dot the landscape; an additional 20 can be found in countries such as Canada, Japan, France, and Switzerland. Spokane’s house serves families from Eastern Washington, Idaho, and parts of Oregon and Montana.

Tamara Vernon stayed at the house on and off for four months beginning in the middle of February, when chest X-rays showed that her daughter had a severely enlarged heart. Eight-month-old Cassandra spent those months in the pediatric intensive care unit of Sacred Heart Medical Center as her heart deteriorated. Her only option is a heart transplant.

“Because of the quality of life afterwards, we’re not sure that we’re going to do that,” says Vernon. Without the transplant, she will die, but the doctors aren’t sure when.

“It could be tomorrow, it could be a year, it could be two years,” Vernon says, her voice breaking. “She’s on loan to us.”

Vernon found a house in Spokane at the beginning of the month and was able to bring her daughter home from the hospital June 9. “There’s really nothing they can do for her there,” says Vernon, who stays home to care for her. A nurse spends eight hours a day assisting.

Vernon came to Spokane from Omak, where she had to give up the house she was buying. She recently found a job in Spokane but had to give that up after only three shifts because the stress of working and providing round-the-clock care for her daughter was too much.

Vernon says she is very grateful for the help the house provided while she was looking for a place to live. Otherwise, she would have had to sleep on a cot by the elevators at the hospital. “I did that for a while,” says Vernon. “It’s not fun.

“The people here have been wonderful. They’ve helped us out a lot,” says Vernon. “If it weren’t for Ronald McDonald’s, we’d really be in a world of hurt.”

The house has served more than 5,000 families like like Vernon’s in the 10 years since it was built.

Each family is asked to pay $10 per night for their room if they can afford it.

“We do not turn anyone away due to their inability to pay,” says Executive Director Julie Moyer-Nesbitt. “Ten dollars doesn’t seem like a lot to some people, but it really can be.”

Usually each of the home’s bedrooms is full, and there is a waiting list. Families must be referred to the house by a physician, a social worker, or a pastor and call 24 hours ahead of their arrival to get on a waiting list.

No reservations are taken, and rooms are given away on a first-come, first-served basis. The house has had to turn families away because the rooms were full, which can be distressing to the staff.

“We can’t take care of everybody,” says Moyer-Nesbitt. “We do the best we can.”

Once there, families are responsible for cleaning their own rooms and cooking their own meals in one of the four kitchens. The staff purchases basic staples, but families are responsible for buying their own meat and vegetables.

‘We can always use canned goods and paper products,” says Moyer-Nesbitt.

Sixty volunteers take turns providing transportation for the families, doing computer data entry, cleaning rooms, answering phones, and baking cookies. The house depends heavily on volunteers; Moyer-Nesbitt is the only full-time paid staff member and nine others work part time.

Despite some hard days, Moyer-Nesbitt says she loves working at the house. She sees families pulling together and marvels at how they cope.

“They continually remind me about what’s important in life and priorities,” says Moyer-Nesbitt.

The worst days are when a child dies, something that happens about 10 times a year. The staff remembers the children by tacking up their pictures on a special bulletin board and by telling their favorite stories about them.

House manager Kathie Vlahovich was particularly touched by a 4-year-old boy who died in March after fighting cancer for two years.

“He was a special little boy that delighted all of us,” Vlahovich says. “He taught us such courage. He just taught us all that each day was real important, and he lived each day to its fullest.”

One of Vlahovich’s favorite stories about the little boy is about how he would rather watch the washers and dryers run than play with his new Tickle Me Elmo doll.

“I’ve learned here at the house that sometimes the simple things are the best things,” says Vlahovich.

The majority of the house’s $250,000 annual budget comes from private donations. Ten percent comes from the Tri-State owner/operators of McDonald’s Restaurants, 8 percent comes from room rental fees, and the remainder is raised in the community. The house receives no federal money.

This feat is accomplished through several major fund-raisers each year, along with several that go on year-round.

One successful fund-raiser is the collection of pull tabs off the top of aluminum cans. Area churches, schools, and other groups collect them and turn them in, netting the house about $5,000 a year.

Despite the many successes, the house often operates at a deficit.

“I think that’s the not-for-profit world,” says accountant Donna Herak. “Clearly you’re at the mercy of the good will of the community.”

The house is currently running $62,000 in the red. That has forced the staff to dip into its endowment fund to cover operating expenses, says Herak.

“We haven’t experienced the bequests that we usually get, memorials are down, and donations are down,” Herak says.

One of the house’s larger fund-raisers, dubbed McDream Street, will take place during the Spokane Homebuilders Association Showcase of Homes July 18-27. Raffle tickets will be sold for 10 themed kid-size playhouses that will be given away during the show.

All proceeds from the $1 tickets will benefit the house.

For information on buying tickets, call the house at 624-0500.

MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: GRANTS OFFERED FOR FAMILIES PROGRAMS Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC) has announced the availability of $50,000 in grants to be awarded to not-for-profit programs in the Inland Northwest area. Grants will be awarded to programs that assist children and families. Funding for the grants is provided by the Tri-State owner/operators of McDonald’s Restaurants and RMHC National. The goal of the grants is to help young people lead healthy and productive lives by funding programs in the areas of health care, medical research, education, the arts, and social and civic concerns. Interested organizations need to send proposals to RMHC at 1015 W. Fifth, Spokane, WA 99204, by Aug. 31. Organizations in Eastern Washington, Idaho, Western Montana, and Northern Oregon are eligible.