USA Health Children’s & Women’s Hospital celebrates renovated Ronald McDonald House family rooms with rededication ceremony
In 2025, the family rooms welcomed more than 20,000 visits — a testament to the essential role the spaces play in easing stress and supporting the well-being of families during what can be some of life’s most difficult moments.
By Casandra Andrews
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To create places of comfort and calm inside USA Health Children’s & Women’s Hospital in 2014, Ronald McDonald House Charities of Mobile (RMHC) opened two family rooms in the pediatric towers just steps away from children’s bedsides.
Now 12 years later, those rooms – the only ones of their kind in the region – have been renovated and continue to serve families who have a child in the hospital.
The spaces were officially rededicated on March 24. Members of the RMHC board of directors, guests and members of the media toured the rooms on the third and fourth floors afterward.
“As the only facility of its kind along the central Gulf Coast, Ronald McDonald House Charities of Mobile plays a critical role in our healthcare landscape,” said Paul Giardina, executive director of RMHC of Mobile. “Our history reflects a legacy of compassion and community investment, and our mission continues to guide us in ensuring that families never have to face their child’s medical crisis alone.”
Designed as spaces of respite, the rooms provide comfortable recliners for rest, grab-and-go snacks, coffee and beverages, laundry facilities, fully stocked shower rooms, and toys and activities for children and siblings.
In 2025, the family rooms welcomed more than 20,000 visits — a powerful testament to the essential role they play in easing stress and supporting the well-being of families during some of life’s most difficult moments.
“Our partnership with USA Health Children’s & Women’s Hospital is central to our mission of caring for families with children who are ill or injured,” Giardina said. “The family rooms reflect what is possible when we work together — providing comfort, dignity, and relief to families in need.”
The history of the Ronald McDonald House in Mobile dates back decades.
In summer 1992, 10-year-old Day Zimlich of Mobile and his mother moved into the Ronald McDonald House of Boston. He received experimental treatment for an inoperative brain tumor. On the return trip to Mobile, and despite the many hospital procedures, Day described his stay at Ronald McDonald House as the best vacation he ever had, asking his mother why there wasn’t a Ronald McDonald House in Mobile.
Eight years later, Day Zimlich and his family helped cut the ribbon on a 12- guest-room Ronald McDonald House of Mobile at the corner of Walshwood and Springhill Avenue. In 2008, the board of directors launched a capital campaign to raise funds to add 26 guest rooms, and in 2011 more families were able to move into the expanded house.
Today, RMHC of Mobile serves about 600 families annually, who would otherwise be required to rent lodging or drive long distances to be with their sick or injured child in the hospital.
