McDonald House offers home away from home

To see how special the Ronald McDonald House of Long Island is, all you have to do is walk into a bathroom.

All of them have signs with pictures reminding users to wash their hands, the kind you see in almost any restaurant. But here, the message is in two dozen languages -- English, Hebrew, French, Taiwanese, Vietnamese, Swahili, Spanish, German, Italian and Hmong, to name a few.

It shows something special is going on at the New Hyde Park facility, a blend of cultures and special needs, held together by 120 volunteers and financial support from hundreds of individuals and community groups.

The goal is to provide a much-needed place to stay for parents of seriously ill children who are hospitalized next door -- for days, weeks or months at a time -- at the Steven and Alexandra Cohen Children's Medical Center of New York, formerly Schneider Children's Hospital.

It's not unusual for parents to stay at their child's bedside almost around the clock. And, a lot of them won't drive home even for a hot meal or to see their spouse or other children. That's what the Ronald McDonald House provides, for $25 a day; or less, if people can't afford it.

Haven for parents

"I truly didn't understand it until I stayed here," said Dora Brunette, 42, of Long Island City, who has been bringing her son, Jake, 5, to the hospital for transfusions every three weeks for the past five years, ever since he was diagnosed with Diamond-Blackfan anemia -- a rare disease that keeps him from producing red blood cells.

But one problem with the repeated transfusions is that they cause a buildup of iron in her son's spleen and liver, which requires him several times a year to spend every minute of the day for three weeks being treated to remove the deposits.

She and her husband, Robert, take turns being with him. But her husband's work schedule has meant she has spent the bulk of the time at the Ronald McDonald House.

"It's a gift just to have a place to sleep," Brunette said. "Just to come here and get a little peace and a good night's sleep."

Anniversary celebration

For the past year, the Ronald McDonald House of Long Island has been giving itself a party -- a long celebration of its 25th anniversary, and of the 16,000 families who have stayed there since it opened, as well as a nod of appreciation to the small army of supporters and volunteers who have kept it going through the years.

The Ronald McDonald House of Long Island was the 100th to open since the first one in Philadelphia in 1974. It was a dream started by three people -- Long Island Jewish Medical Center trustee Lyn Jurick; McDonald's franchise owner/operator Irving Klein; and Philip Lankowsky, chief of staff of the former Schneider Children's Hospital.

They started in 1981, and with the help of 11 others, it took until 1986 to open the 18-bedroom facility.

It now costs nearly $2 million a year to run the 44,000-square foot, 42-room facility -- staffing it 24/7 every day of the year and keeping the laundry and kitchen facilities ready for use around the clock to meet the free time parents get as they work around their children's treatment schedule.

Even responding to the various cultural needs of the families who go there can be costly. While everyone staying at the house gets their own pantry space and can use common areas for cooking and laundry, kosher kitchens are also maintained.

And for Muslims, the monthlong daytime fast of Ramadan means extra staff must be on hand during the night, when parents staying there can eat.

While McDonald's Corp. has given strong financial support over the years -- it gave a seed grant to open the house and committed $1.8 million toward the $5 million 2005 expansion -- each of the more than 300 Ronald McDonald houses across the world operates as an independent, not-for-profit corporation.

There are McDonald's sugar packets and distinctive red McCafé coffee cups for the taking at the house, but it also needs donations, like the $15,000 raised by students at Hampton Bays and Southampton high schools in August, or the $100,000 raised at the McAngels Soar dinner dance in New Hyde Park in March.

Benefit events

On Jan. 10, two of the region's best junior hockey teams -- the Long Island Junior Royals and the Suffolk PAL -- will face off for the Ronald McDonald House Championship at the Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale at 2:30 p.m..

The $25 tickets include admission to the Islanders-Detroit Red Wings game at 7 p.m.

The Ronald McDonald House of Long Island anniversary celebration ends March 24 with its 25th anniversary gala at Citi Field, complete with -- weather permitting -- an on-field cocktail hour, a tour of the Mets dugout and a chance to meet some current and former Mets.

Tickets are $250, and about 500 people are expected to attend.

All proceeds from the hockey game and the gala benefit the Ronald McDonald House of Long Island.

But long after the celebration is over, the house's mission will continue.

"Ninety percent of our families stay with their children during the duration of their stay, and we're the largest provider of pediatric services of any hospital in New York City," said Kevin McGeachy, executive director at the Steven and Alexandra Cohen Children's Medical Center of New York. "We try to give them some normal food, and a bed to sleep in -- some level of normalcy."

Built with love

Ronald McDonald House of Long Island

267-07 76th Ave.

New Hyde Park

516-775-5683; 718-343-5683

rmhlongisland.org

facebook.com/rmhli

mail@rmhlongisland.org

16,000 families have stayed there since 1986

120 volunteers help operate the facility around the clock, every day of the year

42 bedrooms and private bathrooms

5 laundry rooms

2 kosher kitchens

The New Hyde Park facility opened in 1986. It expanded in 2005 after a four-year, $5 million fundraising campaign.

Families are referred to the Ronald McDonald House by social workers at the nearby Steven and Alexandra Cohen Children's Medical Center of New York. Families are asked to pay $25 a day, but there are no limits on duration of stay.

How to help

The Ronald McDonald House accepts donations to keep the facility operating and help provide its guests with some of the comforts of home. All items must be new and in their original packaging. Among the needs:

• Snack food (snack size/individual prepackaged)

To view the facility's complete wish list, go to rmhlongisland.org/wish-list