On December 10th of 2025, the Hofmann family was driving to dinner. Wendy Hofmann was taking her twelve-year-old son Luke and husband Lance to a surprise Christmas dinner at a restaurant in Atlantic Beach. It was at 5:30 p.m. that a drunk driver swerved into their lane and hit the family head on. The Hofmann family had to be airlifted to the hospital. While at the hospital, a social worker came and spoke to them about Ronald McDonald House right next door. After Wendy and Lance completed their own treatment, they moved into the Ronald McDonald House Long Island to stay close to their hospitalized son Luke.
Connection & Comforts at Ronald McDonald House
The Hofmann family stayed in the hospital and slept next to Luke. However, the sleepless nights and naps in the reclining chair took a toll. Once the Hofmann family moved into the Ronald McDonald House, everything changed. Wendy and Lance could finally enjoy a full night’s sleep, a private room and bathroom, and a full kitchen at the Ronald McDonald House. Ronald McDonald House Long Island provides all that a family could need while a child is in the hospital. While families stay at Ronald McDonald House, they get hot, fresh meals daily, snacks, and all the comforts of home. And for the Hofmann family, the Ronald McDonald House was more than a place to rest and eat—it became a place for them to connect with other families over their difficult experiences.
Our other amenities are just as important. Ronald McDonald House has a 24-hour fitness room and a meditation room. Families can enjoy well-stocked children’s playrooms and videogames, outdoor playgrounds, media rooms, free laundry services, and transportation services. All our amenities are centered around making our ill or inured families’ lives easier. Whether it’s the service dogs that come in, our sibling bonding events or our movie nights, we do our best to make our families feel at home.
Expanding Hope & Healing in Suffolk County
We are proud to share that a new Ronald McDonald House is in the works. Scheduled to open in 2027, Ronald McDonald House Stony Brook will provide a space for families of children being treated in Stony Brook Children’s Hospital. At this House, families will have access to 30 bedrooms with private bathrooms, as well as laundry services, filled pantries, transportation services, and home cooked meals. The Ronald McDonald House in Suffolk County will provide a space for those in Stony Brook to take a break from the daily logistics of medical life. When families are together, they cope better.
Ronald McDonald house welcomes families who are experiencing the pain of having a child in the hospital. We are a place where the families of children who are struggling courageously know they are not going through it alone.
The Hofmann family came into the Ronald McDonald House crying from distress and left two months later crying at the thought of leaving what had become their home.