• You live at least 35 miles away from the medical facility where treatment is being received.
• Patient is a pediatric patient.
• Family members are parents, guardians, or other adults directly involved in the care of the patient.
• A referral has been sent from the medical provider to the Ronald McDonald House of Chapel Hill.

If you have a special need or question about eligibility, please reach out our Guest Services Team at 919- 913-2043.

Please contact your healthcare provider, and ask them to submit a referral on our website: www.rmhch.org – Request a Room – For Medical Professionals. The online referral form is password protected.  Healthcare providers can call us at 919-913-2040 if they need the password.

Our Guest Services staff will review the referral and contact you via phone and/or email to confirm receipt of the referral and several pieces of information. We are not able to confirm a room for you until the day of arrival. A referral is not a guarantee of a room.

We are not able to reserve rooms prior to the date of arrival. We will confirm the referral and date of request with you, but we ask that you contact us the morning of your arrival to inquire about the availability of a room. Please call around 10:00 a.m. If we do not have a room available, we will assist you with a hotel referral.

After confirming that a room is available and assigned to you, we will make a check-in appointment for your arrival that day. Please plan on 20-30 minutes for the check in process and tour of the House. In addition to completing registration forms, we will offer information about food, transportation to the hospital, House guidelines, and supportive activities that are available to you during your stay. 

Thanks to the generous support of donors, no family is ever turned away due to inability to contribute. Ronald McDonald House of Chapel Hill relies on donations to provide temporary lodging & meals for families who need a place to stay during their child’s medical treatment. Our operational costs are $85/night for a regular room and $105/night for an apartment.  

There is not a charge to stay at the RMH, but families are invited to offer a donation of $25/night to help provide support to future families.  

We also pursue lodging reimbursement from Medicaid and organizations that support active-duty military families when a family qualifies for this assistance.

Yes, if we are unable to accommodate you at the House, we will submit a referral for you to one of our local partner hotels. These hotels have graciously offered a discounted nightly rate for RMH families. Please speak to a member of the Guest Services team for help with the hotel referral. After we have sent the referral, you will need to work directly with the hotel on your reservation and payment.

No, your room will have fresh towels and bed linens when you check in. We do ask that you launder these linens yourself during your stay. Laundry facilities are on-site and detergent/dryer sheets are provided.

At checkout simply place your dirty towels and sheets in the yellow bag provided and we will take care of laundering at the end your stay.  

There are a variety of different room types and configurations. All of the rooms have private bathrooms, air conditioning, and mini fridges. Please ask a guest services team member if you have specific questions about number of beds and sleeping arrangements.

We do not provide daily housekeeping during your stay at the Ronald McDonald House. We ask families to keep the room clean during their stay. This includes basic cleaning of the room and bathroom, laundering your linens, and taking out your trash. We will stop by your room once every two weeks to check on the upkeep of the room and visit with you.

Yes, we can set up a crib and/or cot in your room.

The House has a fully-stocked pantry and we are happy to provide snacks or easy to go food for you during your stay. Breakfast is served Monday-Friday and dinner is served 7 nights a week. We also have a Family Room inside the Hospital that has coffee and snacks. It is located on the 7th floor of the Children’s Hospital.

Families are only able to have one room at the Ronald McDonald House.

If you forgot something like a toothbrush, razor, or shampoo, check in with the front desk as we often have items you may have forgotten at home to make your stay more comfortable.

We have breast pumps available to check-out as well as a deep freezer for breastmilk storage.

No, you are welcome to come and go as you please. We ask families to call us if they plan to stay overnight at the hospital.

No, however we are a 7day/ 24hour operation. There is a microwave at the front desk to heat food for families.

Yes, there is a shuttle that runs several times throughout the day on weekdays. The same shuttle also provides transportation to Carolina Pointe II clinics. The weekend shuttle runs to the hospital are limited. Schedules are available at the front desk, or you can download one here:

Shuttle Schedule (English)

Shuttle Schedule (Espanol)

The front desk phone can receive calls between the hours of 8am-9pm. You can reach the front desk by calling 919-913-2040 from your mobile phone or by dialing 110 from any House phone. The after-hours emergency number is 919-945-0947. You can also reach the after-hours security staff by dialing 106 from any House phone.

Yes, we have two laundry rooms that are available for guests to use. Laundry detergent and dryer sheets are also provided.

Yes, there is a Walgreens pharmacy and a Fresh Market within walking distance. A map is available on the sign at the entrance to the paved cart path that runs behind the buildings at the top of the parking lot. You can also request information at the front desk.

Buses that serve Chapel Hill and Carrboro locations are available free of charge. The nearest stops to the RMH are along Raleigh Road, and there is a stop at the Hospital. Please see the front desk for more information. You can also do a web search for “Chapel Hill Transit.”

During normal operations, we have several common areas available for use including multiple play rooms, gaming room, meditation space, library, television lounges, two kitchens, and laundry rooms. Currently, the main great room, laundry room, and outdoor courtyard are the only common areas open.

There is one designated smoking area at the House. This area is the Smoking Gazebo located behind the Hearth Building. Smoking is strictly prohibited in all other areas.

Alcohol, illegal drugs, and weapons/firearms are NOT permitted on RMH property. We have a zero tolerance policy about these items.

Only certified Service Dogs are allowed to stay with guests at the Ronald McDonald House. Service dogs are dogs that have been individually trained to perform a specific task for individuals who have disabilities. Emotional Support Animals not permitted inside UNC Hospitals are not permitted at the RMH.