KOTA KINABALU (Aug 5): The Ronald McDonald House will be available at Sabah Women and Children’s Hospital (HWKKS) in Likas by the first quarter of 2023.
Fully equipped with 16 family rooms and complete facilities such as a kitchen and dining area, laundry room, lounge, children’s playroom as well as a prayer room, it will be a “home away from home” for families of pediatric patients who are receiving treatment at the hospital.
President of Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC Malaysia), Datuk Azmir Jaafar, said the facility will ease the financial burden of low-income families at a very reasonable cost, allowing family members to stay close to their children while they are receiving medical treatment.
“The construction of this facility is the fourth in Malaysia, implemented as a result of public donations through the RMHC donation fund and self-order kiosks in more than 300 McDonald’s restaurants throughout Malaysia.
“Apart from the HWKKS which will be operating in 2023, there are three more Ronald McDonald Houses that are currently operating in Peninsular Malaysia namely Tuanku Muhriz Chancellor Hospital Kuala Lumpur, Universiti Sains Malaysia Hospital (Hospital USM) in Kubang Kerian Kelantan and Hospital Tunku Azizah in Kuala Lumpur,” said Azmir.
He said that on Friday during the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signing ceremony at HWKKS between RMHC Malaysia and the Ministry of Health (MoH).
He also said that there are currently more than 370 Ronald McDonald Houses across the globe, providing a place to stay for families with hospitalised children seeking treatment at nearby hospitals and medical facilities.
“They are also planning to build the fifth Ronald McDonald House in Sarawak by the end of 2023 or 2024,” he added.
Costing about RM3 million, the Ronald McDonald House in HWKKS will be located at the hospital’s visiting hall.
Present at the signing ceremony were Deputy Health Minister II Datuk Aaron Ago Dagang, Community Development and People’s Wellbeing Minister Datuk Shahelmey Yahya, State Health Department director Datuk Rose Nani Mudin, hospital director Dr Marcus Netto and secretary-general of the Ministry of Health, Datuk Harjeet Singh Hardev Singh.