The Ronald McDonald House recently opened a Family Room at Johnston-Willis Hospital. The room is intended as a rest spot for parents of children undergoing medical treatment. (Photos courtesy Ronald McDonald House)
The local arm of an international nonprofit is adding to its programming amid a leadership transition.
Ronald McDonald House Charities of Richmond, which provides lodging and hospitality services to the families of hospitalized children, is rolling out services at Johnston-Willis Hospital and St. Francis Medical Center.
The expansion comes as new CEO Emily Toalson takes over the post from Kerry Blumberg.
Blumberg was the Richmond chapter’s CEO for 11 years and is now a field operations associate director for the global Ronald McDonald House organization. Toalson previously was development director for the Children’s Hospital Foundation.
The new Ronald McDonald House setup at HCA-owned Johnston-Willis opened last month with a dedicated room for families to rest while their children are hospitalized. Dubbed a Family Room, the 400-square-foot space features a kitchen, TV and snacks.
Emily Toalson
“It’s a way to get away from that clinical setting,” said Toalson, who joined the local RMHC in June.
Also new at Johnston-Willis is a Ronald McDonald House mobile cart that brings snacks and toiletries to parents who aren’t able to leave their child’s side.
Next month, the nonprofit plans to open an amenities kiosk at Bon Secours-owned St. Francis that also is geared toward helping parents soldier through their child’s hospitalization. It will feature a mini-fridge, snacks and toys for siblings.
Toalson said it’s common for people with children hospitalized at those facilities to stay at the nine-bedroom Ronald McDonald House at 2330 Monument Ave. By bringing the new services to the Chesterfield hospitals, RMHC intends to provide more support to those families.
“With HCA and Bon Secours being referral partners for so long, it was about how can we continue to grow that presence in hospitals we serve,” Toalson said. “You’re looking at where are the patients coming from, who are we serving the most.”
The Richmond chapter of RMHC has a presence at 13 pediatric hospitals and treatment centers in the region. Its offerings at those medical facilities range from a four-bedroom family center at VCU Health’s downtown pediatric hospital to meal distribution. RMHC offers two bedrooms for families to use at Bon Secours St. Mary’s Hospital.
The Ronald McDonald House Family Room features a kitchen, TV, snacks and activities for the parents and siblings of children undergoing treatment at Johnston-Willis.
The Southside expansion comes as the nonprofit continues to explore the creation of a lodging facility with 55 to 60 rooms for families that need a place to stay while their children undergo medical treatment.
RMHC had planned a family center of at least 65,000 square feet and 60 guest rooms as part of the now-abandoned effort by VCU Health to redevelop the Public Safety Building property in Richmond.
Toalson said the group is still interested in establishing a center on that scale, but declined to comment on the current status of that process. She said RMHC still intends to buy land in the area and build such a facility. She said the center would help address the demand for accommodations the nonprofit sees.
“Our long-term vision is to build a new house, because it’s really the patient discharge data that’s telling the story and making an incredible case that we need to be able to offer more sleep rooms,” Toalson said. “It’s definitely a priority for me to see that long-term vision to build a new house come to fruition.”
The nonprofit’s announcement last month of Toalson’s appointment as CEO suggested the nonprofit would exit its center at 2330 Monument Ave., saying she will “guide RMHC Richmond through the process of selecting its next home after 45 years on Monument Avenue.”
Toalson told BizSense that it’s too soon to say for sure what, if anything, will change with the Monument Avenue center once the new facility is constructed.
The restaurant chain McDonald’s doesn’t own the Ronald McDonald House nonprofit, though is the organization’s largest corporate partner.
The Ronald McDonald House recently opened a Family Room at Johnston-Willis Hospital. The room is intended as a rest spot for parents of children undergoing medical treatment. (Photos courtesy Ronald McDonald House)
The local arm of an international nonprofit is adding to its programming amid a leadership transition.
Ronald McDonald House Charities of Richmond, which provides lodging and hospitality services to the families of hospitalized children, is rolling out services at Johnston-Willis Hospital and St. Francis Medical Center.
The expansion comes as new CEO Emily Toalson takes over the post from Kerry Blumberg.
Blumberg was the Richmond chapter’s CEO for 11 years and is now a field operations associate director for the global Ronald McDonald House organization. Toalson previously was development director for the Children’s Hospital Foundation.
The new Ronald McDonald House setup at HCA-owned Johnston-Willis opened last month with a dedicated room for families to rest while their children are hospitalized. Dubbed a Family Room, the 400-square-foot space features a kitchen, TV and snacks.
Emily Toalson
“It’s a way to get away from that clinical setting,” said Toalson, who joined the local RMHC in June.
Also new at Johnston-Willis is a Ronald McDonald House mobile cart that brings snacks and toiletries to parents who aren’t able to leave their child’s side.
Next month, the nonprofit plans to open an amenities kiosk at Bon Secours-owned St. Francis that also is geared toward helping parents soldier through their child’s hospitalization. It will feature a mini-fridge, snacks and toys for siblings.
Toalson said it’s common for people with children hospitalized at those facilities to stay at the nine-bedroom Ronald McDonald House at 2330 Monument Ave. By bringing the new services to the Chesterfield hospitals, RMHC intends to provide more support to those families.
“With HCA and Bon Secours being referral partners for so long, it was about how can we continue to grow that presence in hospitals we serve,” Toalson said. “You’re looking at where are the patients coming from, who are we serving the most.”
The Richmond chapter of RMHC has a presence at 13 pediatric hospitals and treatment centers in the region. Its offerings at those medical facilities range from a four-bedroom family center at VCU Health’s downtown pediatric hospital to meal distribution. RMHC offers two bedrooms for families to use at Bon Secours St. Mary’s Hospital.
The Ronald McDonald House Family Room features a kitchen, TV, snacks and activities for the parents and siblings of children undergoing treatment at Johnston-Willis.
The Southside expansion comes as the nonprofit continues to explore the creation of a lodging facility with 55 to 60 rooms for families that need a place to stay while their children undergo medical treatment.
RMHC had planned a family center of at least 65,000 square feet and 60 guest rooms as part of the now-abandoned effort by VCU Health to redevelop the Public Safety Building property in Richmond.
Toalson said the group is still interested in establishing a center on that scale, but declined to comment on the current status of that process. She said RMHC still intends to buy land in the area and build such a facility. She said the center would help address the demand for accommodations the nonprofit sees.
“Our long-term vision is to build a new house, because it’s really the patient discharge data that’s telling the story and making an incredible case that we need to be able to offer more sleep rooms,” Toalson said. “It’s definitely a priority for me to see that long-term vision to build a new house come to fruition.”
The nonprofit’s announcement last month of Toalson’s appointment as CEO suggested the nonprofit would exit its center at 2330 Monument Ave., saying she will “guide RMHC Richmond through the process of selecting its next home after 45 years on Monument Avenue.”
Toalson told BizSense that it’s too soon to say for sure what, if anything, will change with the Monument Avenue center once the new facility is constructed.
The restaurant chain McDonald’s doesn’t own the Ronald McDonald House nonprofit, though is the organization’s largest corporate partner.
The Ronald McDonald House is an absolute blessing!! My child had to go to a specialty hospital in Denver and was there for 3 months. The Ronald McDonald House afforded us the opportunity for my wife to stay and be close to our child throughout her struggles. What an awesome organization.
They were planning a joint operation with the Doorways (old Hospitality House) at VCU in the new building. It would be cool if they could work with them to redevelop that old Holiday Inn that is Doorways home. They have been in that space since 1994. Enclosing the outdoor hallways, maybe combining to make apartment suites, with some street retail spaces (or maybe a completely new building) to me seems like a great option.
Emily is going to do great things!