Arizona program
A free place to stay near the Tucson hospital
Ronald McDonald House in Tucson offers families a free room near their child’s treatment.
What it is
Ronald McDonald House in Tucson offers families a free room near their child’s treatment.
Repeated travel to Tucson can mean hotel bills or long drives. This house can bring your family closer to care at no room charge. It screens admission and has limited rooms.
Eligibility rules
- The patient must be 21 or younger, receive treatment at a Tucson hospital, clinic or outpatient facility, and live at least 30 miles from the house.
What you get
- A room at no charge for an accepted family during Tucson treatment.
What the help includes
- This is a private charity’s lodging program, not state health coverage. The room has no family charge.
If you decide to apply
- Ask the hospital social worker for a referral, or discuss a stay through the house’s online form.
- Have your home address, distance from the house and treatment schedule ready.
Ronald McDonald House Charities of Southern Arizona: 520-326-0060 · Official page ↗
After you ask
- The house decides after screening and confirms the nights available.
- A family or social worker can ask the House manager about a room. Guests aged 18 and older need the House’s background and health screening. Health questions include recent infection exposure during the preceding 21 days. The manager confirms availability and booking timing at 520-326-0060. If there is no room, the manager and oncology social worker can explore other lodging; a hotel payment is not guaranteed.
Good to know
A referral does not guarantee a room. The house confirms availability and admission.
Other details
- Phoenix and Mesa treatment requires a different lodging route. The Tucson distance rule is measured from the house, not simply the county boundary.
“Would our treatment location and travel distance fit the Tucson house? Could you help us understand the stay rules and make a referral if it suits our family?”
Why I’m asking: I want to reduce the travel and lodging burden around treatment.
More background and detailed requirements
Additional program information and published rules
Who does what
The three parts, side by side. The agency decides; nobody on this page does.
You
Ask for the referral early and say how far you live from Tucson.
Your social worker
The hospital social worker refers you.
The care team
Records and letters when the application asks for them.
- Who decides
- The house, after screening.
- Ask your social worker
- “We live more than 30 miles from Tucson. Can you refer us to the Ronald McDonald House?”
How to apply
First step: Ask the hospital social worker to refer you, or call 520-326-0060.
- Ask the hospital social worker to refer you to the house now, not on the night you need it.
- Or fill in the house’s online form and call 520-326-0060.
Official application / program page ↗
Where it starts: Ask the hospital social worker to refer you, or use the house’s online form. Questions on 520-326-0060.
What to gather
- Your home address and the distance
- The treatment schedule
How long: Ask the house; no timescale was published.
What a yes looks like
A room booked for the nights you are in Tucson.
What a no looks like, and the next move
Ask whether it is availability or the distance rule, and whether to try again next week.
Watch out
- Rooms are limited and admission is screened; ask early.
- This is a Tucson house; Phoenix and Mesa families need a different one.
Each hospital’s own policy
The federal rule sets the floor; each hospital’s policy sets the actual numbers. “Unknown” means the policy could not be read yet: call the number and ask.
The numbers and the rules
The arcane layer, kept on purpose. Checked September 11, 2026.
What it is worth
A free room for the family near the Tucson hospital, for a patient 21 or under living 30 or more miles away.
- $0 — Charge for the room
- $21 — Highest patient age
- $30 — How far from the house your home must be
Covers: A free room for the family close to the hospital
What it costs the family: None.
The eligibility facts, as published
- Age
- 21 or under
- Distance
- home 30 or more miles away
- Treatment
- at a Tucson hospital, clinic or outpatient facility
The trap: There is no charge, but there is a screening process and rooms are limited. Ask the hospital social worker to refer you early rather than waiting until the night you need a bed.
Where I read this
- Ronald McDonald House Charities of Southern Arizona — Stay with Us — Ronald McDonald House Charities of Southern Arizona, read September 10, 2026