Family-Centered Care
Family-Centered Care – also known as family-centred care – is an approach to healthcare that places not only the child who is ill, but the entire family at the centre . Parents and family members are not seen as visitors, but as active partners in the healing process. They know their child best and can make a significant contribution to their recovery.
The family as an effective part of the healing process
When a child is in hospital, life changes for the entire family. In these exceptional circumstances, one thing becomes particularly clear: the closeness and support of family provide far more than comfort – they are an important part of the healing process.
Family-Centered Care is a concept that systematically incorporates the family’s needs, values, skills and perspectives into the child’s medical care. Healthcare professionals and families work together as equal partners, with the aim of ensuring the best possible care and the child’s (emotional) well-being.
In practical terms, this means that parents are present and accompany their child through examinations and treatments. They understand their child’s needs better than anyone else. Research shows that children recover more quickly when their families are close by, experience less stress and achieve better clinical outcomes. At the same time, the emotional strain on parents is significantly reduced when they do not have to travel back and forth between their often distant home and the hospital.
Our Ronald McDonald Houses are precisely the places that make Family-Centered Care possible in the first place. We provide what families need to stay together – close to the hospital, close to their child and close to one another. Without this proximity, Family-Centered Care remains a theoretical concept. Our Ronald McDonald Houses make it a lived reality.
We create an environment,
that is tailored to the needs
of families.
Families avoid high hotel costs and long journeys to the hospital.
Operating a Ronald McDonald House costs an average of 135 Euro per night for each family room. To support ongoing operations, we ask families to contribute 15 Euro per night towards these costs. In this way, they help ensure that the House remains available to future families. Of course, no family is turned away if they are unable to contribute.
