Annual Impact Report 2022

A message from our Chair

My last four years as Chair of the RMHC WA Board have been a humbling experience both personally and professionally.  What matters most in times of unimaginable distress and uncertainty, is family.   

Working seamlessly together with our hospital partners Perth Children’s Hospital and King Edward Memorial hospital, we successfully navigated the challenges of COVID-19 to maintain our essential support to patients and families 24/7, 365 days each year. 

With an exceptional Board and Executive Team, we boldly launched the RMHC WA Strategy 2020-25; a critical roadmap to double our capacity and ensure no family that needs us is turned away. Despite the pandemic and breadth of challenges, our momentum for growth gained pace in 2022 with the release of our plan to increase immediate and long-term support to families.  By the end of 2023, we will support an additional 25 families each day increasing to 50 families by 2024. 

As I reflect on my tenure as RMHC WA Chair I feel immensely proud of how much RMHC WA is deeply valued and respected throughout the WA community and healthcare. At the heart of this is our people; our dedicated staff and almost 400 volunteers.   Each of them an essential part of what makes RMHC WA a family service like no other. 

Andrew Sullivan

Chairperson

Houses

For regional WA families with sick or injured children, we provide supported accommodation 24/7, 365 days a year. Meaning we’re here for families for as long and as often as they need us. Read how one brave mum Stacey called RMHC WA home for over 400 days here.

Play and learning programs

With inviting family room spaces and learning programs that keep children connected to each other and their education, we aim to make things a little easier for families in between medical appointments and beyond. When COVID-19 closures put things on hold learn how we took time to reflect and reopen stronger.

Learning

The Ronald McDonald Learning Program (RMLP) aims to bridge the gap for school aged students whose education is disrupted due to illness or injury. Find out how Angiemey returned to the classroom with the help of her RMLP tutor Leanne here.

Family retreats

Our Family Retreats in Busselton and Bunbury offer a welcomed sanctuary for families to reconnect, relax and play together; an experience most of us take for granted. Read how our Family Retreats gave the Xie family an opportunity to enjoy quality time together on their first-ever family holiday here.

Our RMHC WA Impact Framework provides crucial data and insights to improve, create and collaborate services for positive change in the lives of the families we care for.

In family-centred care, all aspects of care are oriented towards supporting and involving the family with the goal of improving quality, psychological well-being, clinical outcomes and the overall patient and family experience. Here in Western Australia, one of the world’s most isolated health jurisdictions, RMHC WA understands the diverse challenges patients and families experience throughout their journey.

positive change in emotional wellbeing

Had we not stayed at RMHC WA, our emotional wellbeing would have been poor.

positive change in financial wellbeing

Had we not stayed at RMHC WA, our financial wellbeing would have been difficult to manage.

families are equally comfortable in our facilities as they are in their own home

Had we not stayed at RMHC WA, our home environmental wellbeing would have been stressful.

positive change in cultural wellbeing

Had we not stayed at RMHC WA, our cultural wellbeing would have been average.

A message from our Treasurer

Despite challenges during 2022 Ronald McDonald House Charities Western Australia remains in a sound financial position, thanks to an outstanding operational team led by CEO Peter King and continued community, corporate and government support.   

The comprehensive loss of $2.07M in 2022 is the charity’s first deficit in over 10 years.  Material factors contributing towards the financial outcome include the Nedlands House building remediation works and the lingering impact of COVID-19 resulting in lower occupancy levels, delayed fundraising events, and the broader macro-economic conditions which have contributed to unrealised investment losses.    

Whilst we have been challenged by these issues, the charity continues to invest in our need to deliver on mission. While some temporary headwinds are expected to continue into 2023, we anticipate that the strategies being implemented and the hard work being undertaken by our team, will return the charity to sustainable surpluses in the future.

Read our Treasurer’s full message here.

Sonny Rahim

Treasurer RMHC WA