Marshfield (OnFocus) Ronald McDonald House Charities of Marshfield announced on their Facebook page that they made the decision to temporarily close the house in Marshfield, effective March 24th.
Announcement from Facebook Page:
IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT —
Ronald McDonald House Charities of Marshfield is committed to providing clean and healthy family-centered spaces for families to rest, recharge and connect with one another. The health and well-being of our guest families, staff and the communities in which we serve is always our top priority.
In light of the COVID-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic and Governor Evers’ recent “Safer at Home” order, we have made the decision to temporarily close Ronald McDonald House of Marshfield to all families, effective today, March 24.
This decision was arrived at after considerable information gathering, ever-changing hospital protocols, deep contemplation and an awareness of the impact it will have on the children and families we seek to support.
The hard reality is that our programs and communal House – where families come together from places far and wide – may put people at risk and add to the spread of the virus.
What does this mean for Marshfield Children’s Hospital patients and families?
Current Ronald McDonald House guests have been transitioned to a local hotel (paid for by Ronald McDonald House).
At this time, we will not be able to accommodate Pediatrics, Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, Marshfield Clinic or Obstetrics families within the House or at a hotel. To support these families, staff will be working with Marshfield Children’s Hospital to provide comfort bags to new admissions on behalf of RMHC. The bag will include bottles of water, stuffed animal, toiletries, snacks and a note of support from RMH staff. This is in effort to support those families in a small way as well as be sure that no donated snacks and supplies go to waste or expire.
We will continue to stock the Ronald McDonald House Family Lounge at Marshfield Children’s Hospital with snacks and toiletries. The Lounge is open to pediatric families at all times.
Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) families will be offered a hotel voucher for the duration of their baby’s hospitalization. The hotel stay will be free to families, paid for by Ronald McDonald House, as these families do not have an accommodation option within their child’s hospital room.
RMHC still has an important part to play: Our mission does not stop if program operations are suspended.
We plan to continue our communication and engagement with our donors, alumni RMH families, our hospital’s infectious disease doctors, administration and public health professionals.
Exploring opportunities to temporarily shift from program operations to support the front-line healthcare professionals in a variety of ways.
Searching for other funding sources that may allow for us to expand our hotel voucher program to include additional units and diagnoses outside of NICU.
Like many of you, our plans and priorities have shifted quickly over the past few days in response to the current state of the world. We are heartbroken at the added stress that this may cause our families but remain hopeful that the precautions that we have put in place will keep families, staff, volunteers and our community safe.
We are closely monitoring this situation to ensure the steps we take to address COVID-19 are in the best interest of our guest families and the communities in which we serve. We will continue to follow the guidance and recommendations of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Wood County Public Health Department, World Health Organization (WHO), and Marshfield Children’s Hospital as we navigate this situation.
