Parent Care at The Ronald McDonald House of New York

Anyone who works with pediatric care knows that the state of mind of the parent influences the well-being of the child. About eight years ago the Massage Therapy Program at the Swedish Institute began sending interns to The Ronald McDonald House (RMDH) of New York to offer relaxing chair massage sessions for parents. Student interns go as a supervised group to “The House”, as it’s called by residents, to provide half hour sessions in the Greenhouse. Located in a spacious top floor room filled with plants, huge windows and skylights, the Greenhouse has a spa-like quality that enhances the effects of the students’ work.

Fordham Murdy, the Evening Program Manager at RMDH of New York, says, “We don’t do any clinical work here, but we do a lot of healing.” With its mission to help families with children facing cancer, “The House”, as it’s called by residents, is the largest facility of its kind in the world. It can host 83 families and is filled to capacity nearly every night. People come from all over the world to have access to the 13 major cancer treatment centers that are nearby. Paying just $35 a night, families may stay weeks, months or even a year or longer, as their children undergo surgeries, chemotherapy or clinical trials.

“I take prospective families on tours,” Fordham explained, “and when we get to the Greenhouse I tell them that about once a month students from the Swedish Institute come to provide chair massage for them. I think it helps the parents understand that when they are here we are going to be taking care of them as they take care of their children. We don’t only provide housing for them, we provide a community; people going through the same experience who they can talk to, counselors of various kinds, special events to help them relax, and activities for kids and parents.” 

Helping these families out is something that students in the Massage Therapy Program look forward to, and RMDH of New York is one of the most popular of the many options for offsite internships.

For information on the work going on at Ronald McDonald House and ways to volunteer or contribute go to www.rmdh.org.

Images courtesy of the Ronald McDonald House of New York.

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