A Family Story Starring Grace and Gracie Rose
When Grace Johnson arrived at Ronald McDonald House New York one summer evening with her baby girl, Gracie Rose, it wasn’t just a visit. It was a moment that tied together months of phone calls, late-night worries, and a growing trust between two women on very different journeys.
On the other side of the door was Grethel Ramos, a community health worker with RMH-NY’s Population Health Team. Until that day, their connection had lived entirely over the phone: one woman balancing the chaos of new motherhood, the other offering steady guidance and resources to help ease that burden.
“Meeting Grace and her family in person for the first time was a full circle moment because I could finally put a face to the voice I had been supporting,” Grethel reflected. “It made me appreciate even more the impact that consistent care and communication can have.”
That moment—warm, ordinary, and extraordinary all at once—illustrates a new service RMH-NY is employing through its Population Health Team: meeting NYC families where they are and creating lifelines that connect them to the resources they need most.
Two Women, Two Journeys
Grace
Grace’s journey began with the arrival of her daughter. She lovingly calls her little one “my emotional support baby”, a child who, even in sleepless nights, brings her joy and purpose. Named after Grace’s late sister Rose, Gracie is both a source of healing and a reminder of how fragile stability can be.
Mama Grace is the youngest of ten siblings, with family spread from Liberia to Texas to Georgia as well as here in NYC. In Staten Island, she shares a small, crowded space with extended relatives. “ Why don’t we utilize the help, especially once we found it? This is a resource. This is for us. Let’s use it,” she explained speaking about Grethel contacting the family and offering assistance.
Daily life is a balancing act: working three days a week as a nurse, relying on her mother to help with childcare, and trying to build income to move into a place of her own. Housing is difficult, expensive, and often out of reach. Grace describes finding apartments in cold basements or being told she needs three times the rent in income to qualify. “If the rent is $1,800 and I make $1,800, I’m gonna pay the rent with my one paycheck?”
Grethel
For Grethel, the journey into this work began decades earlier. Growing up in Miami, she watched a family member battle leukemia. It was then that she first learned about Ronald McDonald House New York. “During that difficult time, the organization brought harmony and comfort to the children in our family, including me, at a moment filled with confusion and uncertainty,” she recalled. “That experience left a lasting impression on me and made me aware of the incredible support RMH provides to families.”
That seed grew into a budding career built on compassion and persistence. Today, Grethel is part of RMH-NY’s Population Health Team, a department restructured and renamed in 2024 to reflect a stronger focus on health equity. Grethel also volunteers one day a week at our family room at NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst.
What the Population Health Team Does
RMH-NY’s Population Health Team partners with social care networks across all five boroughs through New York’s Medicaid 1115 Waiver Program. Their work is clear and practical: connect local NYC families to the essentials that underpin a healthy life for both them and their children.
“We focus on helping children and young adults, pregnant and postpartum individuals, and their families by addressing essential needs like housing, transportation, food, employment, education, and care coordination,” Grethel explained. “Our goal is to make it easier for families to access the resources that can improve their health and well-being, both now and in the future.”
For Grethel and each member of RMH-NY’s Population Health team, each day involves two types of work. The first is outreach—reviewing referrals, making cold calls, and introducing families to the program. The second is sustained support—following up with the 29 families Grethel currently supports to ensure needs continue to be met.
“Whether we are building a new connection or continuing to support someone we know well, our goal is always to be the bridge between families and the resources that can help them thrive.”
It’s rewarding and challenging in equal measure. “One of the most rewarding parts of working on the Population Health Team is meeting people where they are in life and being able to bring light into moments that feel heavy,” Grethel said. “On more than oneoccasion, people have told me they see me as their angel, and moments like that remind me why this work matters so much.”
But the hardest moments are when someone doesn’t qualify for the program. “It is never easy to deliver that news, but our team always works together to find other resources or connect them to organizations that can assist. Even if we cannot enroll them, we make sure they leave the conversation feeling supported and not alone.”
A Quote from Leadership
“Behind every number is a family. This year, our Population Health team has supported more than 350 individuals and delivered over 1,200 services across New York City, each one a reminder that small acts of care can create big change. Our work shows that when you extend care and compassion into the community, you strengthen the entire healthcare system.”
-Jamillah Hoy Rosas, MPH, RD, Head of Population Health & Healthcare Experiences
Did You Know?
The Medicaid Waiver Explained
For families like Grace’s, the Medicaid Waiver is more than a policy—it’s a lifeline.
Formally known as the New York Medicaid 1115 Waiver, it allows the state to test innovative approaches that integrate healthcare with social supports. The premise is simple but powerful: health outcomes aren’t shaped by medicine alone. They are profoundly affected by housing, food security, transportation, and childcare.
Through the Waiver, community-based organizations like RMH-NY are funded to address these social determinants of health. Instead of leaving families to navigate complex systems alone, the Waiver builds bridges: food deliveries to reduce hunger, childcare solutions so parents can work, and housing support to stabilize families.
For RMH-NY, participation in the Waiver represents a strategic expansion of its mission. The House has always provided family-centered care within its walls. Now, through Population Health, it extends compassionate care into neighborhoods across all five boroughs.
For Grace, the difference is tangible. “It’s reassured me that I don’t have to leave my family because I can’t afford New York City rent,” she said. “I can be in a good space for me and my child and still be present for my mom and my nephews and nieces.”
Building Stability Together
As Grace and Grethel continued to work together, their plan evolved. Food insecurity gave way to the next pressing need: childcare. Grace’s mother helped as much as she could, but the demands of a new baby were heavy.
“She’s a Velcro baby,” Grace joked. “She needs someone that, if my mom is tired, can help out.”
With childcare support, Grace hopes to work more hours, increase her income, and secure stable housing. “Once the one thing starts falling into place, everything else will take care of itself,” she said.
For Grethel, it’s exactly this step-by-step partnership that defines the Population Health Team. “Working with Grace and her family has shown me how much of a difference genuine connection can make, even through simple phone calls,” she explained.
A Broader Vision for RMH-NY
The Population Health Team is still young—just three years old—but its impact is already reshaping RMH-NY’s landscape. By engaging with the Medicaid Waiver and other community partners, the House is widening its reach far beyond East 73rd Street.
This growth is strategic. It means RMH-NY can serve families not only when they come to New York for pediatric cancer treatment, but also when they are struggling with housing, food, or transportation in their own neighborhoods. It means addressing health disparities and advancing health equity with the same compassion and holistic care that has always defined the House.
As Grethel put it, “My connection to health equity started long before I knew the term for it. Growing up, I saw firsthand how a lack of access to care impacted my family. Over time, I naturally gravitated toward serving communities that were often underserved and sometimes unable to advocate for themselves.”
Grethel’s story beautifully embodies the mission of Ronald McDonald House New York’s Population Health initiative. Yet, she is just one vital part of a larger team of dedicated, community health–focused professionals. Together, these team members work tirelessly every day to deliver family-centered, compassionate care to families in need across all five boroughs of New York City.
Gratitude and Grace
For Grace, the Population Health Team has been more than a service. It’s been a reassurance that she can stay rooted in her community. “Before this, I was going to New Jersey because that’s where I could afford a two-bedroom safely. But now, with the Waiver, I can still be here,” she said.
Her gratitude is heartfelt and direct. “Hi, thank you so much, Ronald McDonald House New York. I am extremely grateful for your help and the support from your team. We say thank you.”
A Vision for the Future
Grethel hopes to become a physician one day—a goal that feels like a natural extension of her work and compassion. Her aspiration reflects how deeply she’s been inspired by the families she serves and the mission she helps advance each day.
At Ronald McDonald House New York, stories like hers are not uncommon. Another member of the Population Health team recently began medical school, and several others are preparing for careers in social work. Together, they represent the next generation of compassionate healthcare providers—individuals whose paths have been shaped by their shared commitment to serving families with care, dignity, and heart.
A Call to Action
The story of Grace and Grethel is one of two women on different paths, intersecting through a shared mission: stability, support, and hope. For Grace, it means food, childcare, and the chance to stay close to her family. For Grethel, it means living out her calling to bring light into heavy moments and advocate for health equity.
Together, their story reflects the future of RMH-NY.
Every week, the Population Health Team connects with families across New York City, ensuring that no one has to choose between their child’s health and basic survival. But this work is only possible with community support.
By giving to RMH-NY, you extend compassionate care beyond hospital walls. You help families secure housing, put meals on the table, and keep children close to their loved ones.
Join us in this work. Donate today to fuel programs like the Medicaid Waiver initiative, share this story to raise awareness, and partner with us to expand health equity across the five boroughs.
Together, we can turn a phone call into a lifeline, a food box into a family meal, and a crowded apartment into a pathway toward stability.
Support RMH-NY’s Population Health Work.
Thank you to Grace, Gracie Rose, and Grethel Ramos for their time and willingness to share their relationship with us to help us better understand the importance of the Population Health Team's work at Ronald McDonald House New York.
