History

How it all began

Nearly fifty years ago, a young girl was diagnosed with cancer.  She needed her family’s support and care as much as they needed to be with her.  Dr. Audrey Evans, head of Pediatric Oncology at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia had been dreaming of temporary housing where families could stay to be near their child.  Rallying together in support of this vision, an NFL team, McDonald’s® and an entire community made the dream of the first Ronald McDonald House® a reality.

Your support creates magic

In the early 1980s, Dr. John Genrich saw the need for housing that would keep families together, providing the care they needed during times of medical crisis. With support from local McDonald’s restaurants, the Junior League, Memorial Hospital and our generous community, our Ronald McDonald House® opened its doors on February 14, 1987 – thus, we lovingly call it the “House that Love Built”.  As a house of healing for over 100 years, (first as a TB sanatorium, then dormitory living for Bethel nursing students), our Ronald McDonald House® was a home for more than  10,500 families in the first 32 years.

On August 19, 2019, RMHCSC opened the doors to our current Ronald McDonald House®  located at 4223 Royal Pine Drive.

Colorado Springs is home to world-class pediatric care.  Our Ronald McDonald House®, located next to Children’s Hospital, Colorado, Colorado Springs (and near St. Francis Medical Center) serves families with seriously ill children from Southern Colorado, New Mexico, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas and beyond.

Going beyond our walls

RMHCSC has continued to meet our community’s unique needs by providing additional services. Opening Colorado’s first Ronald McDonald Family Room® in 2008 with UCHealth at Memorial Hospital Central, RMHCSC soon opened the second Family Room® in St. Francis Medical Center and the third at Children’s Hospital Colorado, Colorado Springs. Our unduplicated cornerstone programs are vital in meeting the needs of critically ill children and their families.