Ronald McDonald House BC & Yukon is releasing its 2025 State of Family-Centred Care Brief, a system-level examination of what families experience beyond hospital walls – and where British Columbia’s healthcare model risks falling out of step with the realities of modern pediatric care.
For thousands of families across the province, pediatric illness is not only a medical crisis – it is a logistical, financial, and emotional upheaval. Many must travel long distances for specialized treatment, navigating housing instability, lost income, and complex systems at the very moment their child needs them most.
For more than four decades, Ronald McDonald House BC & Yukon has supported 25,000 medical journeys for families who must travel to Vancouver for care, providing a true home-away-from-home during some of life’s most difficult periods.
The organization’s work is grounded in a clear, evidence-based truth: children heal better when their families are close. Through wraparound, family-centred supports, Ronald McDonald House BC & Yukon helps address the non-medical realities of pediatric illness – including housing, food security, emotional well-being, and connection.
“For more than 20 years, we have watched pediatric healthcare in British Columbia advance in extraordinary ways – from new treatments to highly specialized care delivered by remarkable clinicians,” said Richard Pass, CEO, Ronald McDonald House BC & Yukon. “But alongside those advances, something else has become increasingly clear: our systems have not kept pace with what families actually need to stay present, stable, and together during care.”
Pediatric care in British Columbia is increasingly centralized, requiring families to travel long distances for extended periods. The financial, emotional, and logistical strain often begins before treatment does. Yet families consistently report that stability outside the hospital directly affects recovery inside it – shaping stress levels, decision-making, and outcomes. While medical care continues to advance, the family-centred supports that make equitable access possible – including housing, food security, mental-health services, and culturally safe spaces – have not kept pace, widening gaps in who can remain present during a child’s care.
“BC has an opportunity to lead – not just in clinical excellence, but in how we design care around the child,” Pass continued. “That means recognizing family presence as essential infrastructure, not optional support.”
The 2025 briefing highlights the scale of the challenge:
- Two-thirds of families must travel for pediatric healthcare
- Families travel an average of 498 kilometres – more than five hours each way
- 23 nights is the average length of stay; the longest stay in 2025 was 311 nights
- Families save an estimated $23,000 by staying close to care
Through Ronald McDonald House BC & Yukon – and Family Rooms established in Surrey, and most recently in Kamloops and Prince George – the organization continues to work toward ensuring that geography and income do not determine a child’s chance at recovery.
The briefing points to a clear next step for British Columbia: moving from isolated solutions to shared partnership. Designing care around families, building supports beyond hospital walls – and expanding access across the province are essential to ensuring pediatric care is equitable, effective, and aligned with how care is actually experienced today.
“We invite healthcare leaders, policymakers, and community partners to recognize family-centred care as the infrastructure it truly is,” Pass added. “Ronald McDonald House BC & Yukon stands ready to collaborate, convene, and help build what families across this province need next – because when family stays close, care works better.”
