Parents Planning Guide to Rady Children's Hospital: Ronald McDonald House

The Ronald McDonald House is on the top floor of the parking garage, directly east of the main hospital.

If you have a green wristband indicating you're the parent to a patient, you can go to the Ronald McDonald house for a free meal, snack, shower, or just take a break.

Meals
Meals are served three times a day.

Breakfast 7am-8:30am
Lunch 12-1:30
Dinner 6-7:30

Breakfast is typically a continental breakfast with pastries, frozen breakfast sandwiches (there's microwaves that you can use to heat up), frozen breakfast burritos, cereal, and oatmeal. There's usually some sort of fruit and usually some yogurt. Occasionally, there will be a hot meal (scrambled eggs, pancakes, etc). There's also occasionally some Mexican breakfast foods.

Lunch and Dinner are typically served by a volunteer organization such as a church, girl scouts, etc. Once I went for lunch and had pizza (from Costco) along with an ice cream bar served by a local girl scout troop.

Getting In
When you get there, you'll have to hit a buzzer to be let in. You'll then need to show your wristband to the volunteers at the front counter. They'll ask you to sign your name and check off what you're there for: meal, shower, etc. They'll put a colored sticker on your wristband indicating that you've checked in for the day.

The inside is similar to a hotel

Hot Tip: Across from the check in desk, they have copies of the San Diego Union Tribune. Don't be shy. Go ahead and take one. You can catch up on the news back in the hospital room. They also sometimes have coupons for local places.

The patio is a good place for siblings to get a break and run around

Showers
If you need a quick shower, you can get one at the Ronald McDonald House. Let them know when you check in, and they will show you where to go. They'll also provide a towel. I would recommend bringing in your own towels, just because the ones they have are so small. They're typical hotel towels.

The showers are like a typical hotel bathroom. They lock so you have the place to yourself. They have a shower, toilet and sink. They also have travel size shampoo and soap. They don't have shaving supplies, so make sure you bring that with you if needed.

Rooms
If your child is in for a long term illness, you're far away from home or have some other hardship, you might qualifty to get a room for your family to stay in. The hospital has social workers who can help determine if you qualify. I don't know the exact requirements. The rooms are like a typical hotel room.