Ronald McDonald House Charities®(RMHC) of Greater Houston/Galveston in conjunction with Texas Children’s Hospital is pleased to announce the unveiling of its new Ronald McDonald Care Mobile® medical unit. Operated by Texas Children’s, the Ronald McDonald Care Mobile® is a state-of-the-art, fully-equipped pediatric clinic on wheels. The medical unit will be unveiled at a ribbon cutting ceremony with special guest and speaker Mayor Sylvester Turner on February 10, 2017 from 9:00am until 10:00am at the McDonald’s restaurant located at 1619 South Loop West.
Designed from the ground up to meet healthcare and treatment needs of children, Ronald McDonald Care Mobile® is staffed by pediatricians, nurse practitioners, nurses, and medical assistants from Texas Children’s. Ronald McDonald Care Mobile® will provide medical care to over 3,000 children per year in a 60 mile radius around the Texas Medical Center. The new unit’s arrival is expected to expand service reach by 10 percent in the first year.
Tanya Gee, Executive Director of RMHC® Houston & Galveston, explained its impact: “Working in partnership with community health care leaders, the Ronald McDonald Care Mobile® bridges gaps between underserved children and local community agencies. It travels to locations lacking pediatric resources or underutilizing existing ones. We want to thank our partners at Texas Children’s for their tireless dedication to our shared mission of service to the children of Houston and the local McDonald’s Owner/Operators for their incredible generosity.”
“We are looking forward to the continued impact the Ronald McDonald Care Mobile® will have on families in Houston,” said Kay Tittle, president of Texas Children’s Pediatrics. “At Texas Children’s, our goal is to build a community of healthy children, and our mobile clinics allow us to provide trusted, high-quality medical services to children who normally might not have the opportunity to receive health care.”
The Ronald McDonald Care Mobile medical unit was made possible by a donation of $400,000 from the McDonald’s Owner/Operators Association of Greater Houston. Through its Fry Fund initiative, Houston area McDonald’s restaurants donated three cents for every case of French fries sold over the past four years.
“As local business people, we are committed to supporting the communities we live and work in,” said Matthew Kades, President of the McDonald’s Owner/Operators Association of Greater Houston. “The families served by the Ronald McDonald Care Mobile® are our neighbors. McDonald’s is a big brand, and with partners like Ronald McDonald House Charities® and Texas Children’s Hospital, we can make a big impact right here in Greater Houston.”
ABOUT RONALD MCDONALD HOUSE CHARITIES
Guided by our mission to create, find and support programs that directly improve the health and well-being of children and their families, RMHC® of Greater Houston/Galveston maintains three core programs. In our ongoing efforts to keep families close to the care they need, we support two Ronald McDonald Care Mobiles providing medical and dental care to the children of our community free of charge. We support four C.H.E.E.R.! Rooms offering “play with a purpose” for children while their mothers receive prenatal care at area maternal fetal clinics. Finally, we provide scholarships annually to area high school seniors totaling $170,000 though the RMHC® U.S. Scholarship Programs. Follow RMHCGHG on Twitter @rmhchou.
ABOUT RONALD MCDONALD CARE MOBILE
The Ronald McDonald Care Mobile® provides free services to uninsured/underinsured pediatric patients. Some services offered include: immunizations, well-child and urgent care visits, vision and hearing screenings, free medicine through an on-site pharmacy, and specialty care referrals, including mental health and social service referrals.
ABOUT TEXAS CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL
Texas Children’s Hospital, a not-for-profit health care organization, is committed to creating a healthier future for children and women throughout the global community by leading in patient care, education and research. Consistently ranked as the best children’s hospital in Texas, and among the top in the nation, Texas Children’s has garnered widespread recognition for its expertise and breakthroughs in pediatric and women’s health. The hospital includes the Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute; the Feigin Tower for pediatric research; Texas Children’s Pavilion for Women, a comprehensive obstetrics/gynecology facility focusing on high-risk births; Texas Children’s Hospital West Campus, a community hospital in suburban West Houston; and Texas Children’s Hospital The Woodlands, a second community hospital planned to open in 2017. The organization also created Texas Children’s Health Plan, the nation’s first HMO for children; has the largest pediatric primary care network in the country, Texas Children’s Pediatrics; Texas Children’s Urgent Care clinics that specialize in after-hours care tailored specifically for children; and a global health program that’s channeling care to children and women all over the world. Texas Children’s Hospital is affiliated with Baylor College of Medicine. For more information, go to www.texaschildrens.org. Get the latest news by visiting the online newsroom and Twitter at twitter.com/texaschildrens.
ABOUT McDONALD’S OWNER/OPERATORS ASSOCIATION OF GREATER HOUSTON
The McDonald’s Owner/Operators Association of Greater Houston (MOAGH) is a co-operative of local business owners who own and operate more than 300 McDonald’s restaurants in Greater Houston. MOAGH-owned McDonald’s restaurants employ more than 15,000 people in the Greater Houston community. Follow your local McDonald’s on Twitter @McD_Houston.