Donate Today

Stay at the House

The Ronald McDonald House of Iowa City provides support and comfortable accommodations for families so they can stay close to their child receiving medical treatment.

To be eligible to stay, families must live at least 20 miles away and have a child age 21 or younger in medical care. Once a guest, families may stay until their child is discharged from the hospital. Because of this, we cannot guarantee room reservations in advance as families do not always know when they will be leaving. In lieu of room reservations, families are placed on our Wait List until a room becomes available.

Patients may not stay alone regardless of age.

Since our House is often full, we partner with local hotels to provide discounted rates to families on the current day’s waitlist.

Ronald McDonald House is located on the University of Iowa’s smoke-free campus. Tobacco use, including vaping, is not permitted in the building or outside on the grounds. Guests who wish to smoke or vape will need to walk approximately three blocks to find a permitted location.

How to Stay

Requesting a room at the Ronald McDonald House is easy. Simply follow the steps below:

  1. Call the office at (319) 500-RMHC (7642) to place your family’s name on the Wait List. Office hours are 7:30 am – 9:00 pm, every day.
  2. We cannot take advanced reservations as we have no way of knowing when rooms will become available.  Families may stay until their child’s medical care is complete, and that is often unpredictable.
  3. On the day of your request, staff will call you as soon as a room is available. This may be anytime throughout the day. If you do not answer, staff will leave a message requesting that you call back by a designated time. If you do not call back by that time, we will need to offer the room to another family.
  4. If you have not heard from us, it means that a room is not available. You are welcome to contact us for information on discounted hotels.
  5. Please review our guidelines prior to your stay: Cooperative Living Guidelines.
  6. Please note that any individual with a child abuse or domestic violence conviction, or any individual on the National Sex Offender Registry, is not eligible to stay at Ronald McDonald House.