Ronald McDonald House at Hospital USM Now Open

23 Jun 2019

RMHC Malaysia organises gotong-royong event to welcome family members of pediatric patients.

KUBANG KERIAN, 23 June 2019 – Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC Malaysia) and McDonald’s Malaysia in collaboration with Universiti Sains Malaysia Hospital (Hospital USM) held a gotong-royong event in conjunction with the opening of Ronald McDonald House in Hospital USM to welcome the family of pediatric patients receiving treatment there as well as surrounding hospitals.

The opening of this Ronald McDonald House makes it the second of its kind in Malaysia, following the first at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Center, Kuala Lumpur back in 1999.

Azmir Jaafar, President of RMHC and Managing Director and Local Operating Partner of McDonald’s Malaysia said, “The Ronald McDonald House was opened due to the necessity at HUSM which is a referral hospital receiveing more than 20,000 patients annually. This facility is important because it not only provides the amenities and accommodation to alleviate the burden of the patient’s family, but it also provides some of these families with emotional strength coming from the support of other families who are also accompanying their sick children receiving treatment. ”

YBhg. Professor Datuk Dr. Asma Ismail, Universiti Sains Malaysia vice-chancellor said, “With the presence of Ronald McDonald House at Hospital USM campus, it will be possible for family members to stay with their children throughout their treatment at the hospital. This is important because indirectly, it will encourage the recovery of the pediatric patients at a faster pace due to the physical and emotional support from family members. ”

With a construction cost of RM4 million, Ronald McDonald House at Hospital USM is equipped with 18 bedrooms as well as a dining room, lounge, kitchen, laundry room, games room, and other facilities for occupants. Apart from that, this house is made more special with the Ronald McDonald Sensory Room which provides special multi-sensory equipment donated to Hospital USM to assist with the development of special needs children.

The Ronald McDonald House was made possible with contributions from RMHC Malaysia, McDonald’s Malaysia, business partners, and McDonald’s customers who contribute through the RMHC coin box located in over 275 McDonald’s restaurants nationwide.

Also present at the Ronald McDonald House Opening Ceremony was YBhg. Professor Dato’ Dr. Ahmad Sukari Halim, Health Campus Director/Director of USM Hospital.

Members of the public who wish to know more about the Ronald McDonald House (RMH) in Hospital USM, Kelantan or wish to contribute via cash donations or volunteering can contact RMH PPUKM, Kuala Lumpur branch at 03-91735994 for more information.

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About McDonald’s

McDonald’s is the world’s leading food service retailer with approximately 36,000 restaurants worldwide, serving more than 70 million customers daily in more than 100 countries. With 37 years of presence in Malaysia, McDonald’s serves over 13.5 million customers a month at more than 270 restaurants nationwide. McDonald’s employs more than 14,000 Malaysians in restaurants across the nation providing career, training and development opportunities. For more information on McDonald’s, please visit www.mcdonalds.com.my.

About RMHC

RMHC Malaysia was established in February 1990 as a non-profit organization with the mission to create, find and support programmes that directly improve the health and well-being of under-privileged children in Malaysia. RMHC Malaysia operates four main programmes in supporting their core pillars of Health, Education and Welfare. These programmes are the Ronald McDonald House, Ronald McDonald Sensory Room, Gift of Smile and the ‘Back To School’ program. In the last 28 years, RMHC has positively impacted more than 40,000 children’s lives in the areas of health, education and welfare with funding of more than RM20 million. Funds for programmes are collected through the generosity of individual donors through coin-boxes located at McDonald’s Restaurants and from corporate sponsorships and donations. For more information on RMHC, please visit https://rmhc-malaysia.my/.

About Hospital USM

Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) was established as a teaching hospital in 1983, led by Professor Dr. Kamaruzaman Wan Su, the first director of Hospital USM with his two deputy directors and 570 pioneer staff. Now, for more than 30 years, Hospital USM served the people with around 3,322 staff and the current director continues to offer various clinical services and supports to locals as well as patients across Malaysia.

The inauguration of Hospital USM was done on 26 August 1984 by the KDYMM Al-Sultan Kelantan, Sultan Ismail Ibni Almarhum Sultan Yahya Petra. Hospital USM is aimed to be the main teaching hospital for Medical Science, Dental Science dan Health Science. Hospital USM also provides treatment services to patients while giving opportunity for researchers to carry research activities.

Supported by its mission: “Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia Hospital will explore new areas of patient care services and become an excellent medical centre with quality services and advanced technology usage”, Hospital USM is moving forward to make this mission a reality.

As an excellent corporate organisation, Hospital USM provides patient care services that operate based on: