02 Aug Amazon and Volara Collaborate to Improve the Experience of Families Staying at Ronald McDonald House Charities® of Greater Washington, D.C.
With Alexa, guests at Ronald McDonald House will have easier access to information and automated service requests to support a comfortable stay while their child receives treatment nearby.
Ronald McDonald House Charities® of Greater Washington, D.C. (RMHCDC) is adding another improvement to our newly renovated Ronald McDonald House programs: Amazon Echo devices, powered by Volara’s custom voice-based solutions for the hospitality industry. Now, when families of locally hospitalized children are staying at the House, they will have on-demand access to program services, area information, and more.
The mission of RMHCDC is to ease the burden of childhood illness on children and families. An important part of achieving that mission is providing a home-away-from-home for families who must travel far away for their child’s medical care. By providing comfort and support for the entire family, RMHCDC hopes to help families cope better and focus on the needs of their sick child.
Alexa will provide an efficient means of communicating important information with families throughout the House.
The days of hoping a family will see a sign posted in the hallway are long gone!Operationalizing requests for maintenance, ride sharing or other day to day needs will give our staff the ability to provide a higher level of customer service and respond in a shorter time frame.”
Dustin Davis, VP of Programs & Operations for RMHCDC
With Echo devices, RMHCDC will be able to push announcements about programs, meals, events, and more to the Echo devices, which families can check at their leisure.
With the addition of Echo devices in RMHCDC rooms, families will be able to interact with Alexa as they would at home, including accessing entertainment, music, the weather forecast, or information like directions for dining, pharmacies, and other local points of interest.
“The ability to operationalize maintenance requests through Alexa helps us to meet our families’ needs quickly and efficiently,” said Sarah Quillen, VP of Development & Marketing for RMHCDC. “Also, because families at our D.C. House often rely on taxis or ride share services for transportation to and from the hospital, it’s a huge win to have the option to schedule a ride in one easy step through Alexa. That will help our families get out the door faster so they can be at their child’s bedside in minutes.”
“The families staying at Ronald McDonald House of Washington, D.C. have so much on their minds,” said David Berger, CEO of Volara. “Amidst worrying about their child’s treatment plan, they don’t have time to search for a dinner flyer or to seek out transportation instructions. With Echo devices, powered by Volara, we are putting all information in one place and making it available by simple voice command. Families don’t have to worry about cleanliness and touching collateral that countless other people may have touched.”
Based on the success of the Volara and Amazon launch in D.C., RMHCDC hopes to bring the joint technology to the Ronald McDonald House of Northern Virginia on the campus of Inova Fairfax Hospital.
RMHCDC Media Contact:
Rachel Taninecz, RMHCDC
[email protected]
About Volara
Volara is THE provider of custom voice-based solutions for the hospitality industry. Volara’s proprietary software creates a hotel business tool atop the leading smart speakers and natural language processing platforms. Volara’s proven best practices ensure high utilization rates and an optimal guest experience that creates personal and remarkable engagement with brands. Over 10 million people have used voiced-based solutions powered by Volara. To learn more about Volara, visit:volara.io
About Ronald McDonald House Charities® of Greater Washington, DC (RMHCDC)
Ronald McDonald House Charities® of Greater Washington, DC (RMHCDC), a non-profit, 501 (C) (3), eases the hardship of children’s illness on families through programs that directly improve the health and wellbeing of children. Through its three core programs: two Ronald McDonald House® programs, three Ronald McDonald Family Room® programs, and two Ronald McDonald Care Mobiles programs. RMHCDC keeps families with sick children together and close to the medical care their child needs at leading local hospitals. RMHCDC programs not only provide access to quality health care, they enable family-centered care ensuring families are fully supported and actively involved in their children’s care. For more information, visit www.rmhcdc.org.