Hospital Amenities

Facility Amenities

• Family Waiting Rooms on Inpatient Units

  The inpatient family waiting rooms in the main hospital and in the East Inpatient Tower offer families space to work, read, have a meal or sleep. Some family waiting rooms have computers that families can use to check email, or to do work or homework.

  For more information or to locate a family waiting room, please speak with the healthcare provider on your child’s unit.

  Hours of operation:

  • 24 hours per day, seven days per week

• Laundry

  Laundry facilities are available for families during their child’s hospitalization. While some of the inpatient units have laundry facilities available for families specific to their units, there is also a family waiting room on the third floor of the East Inpatient Tower with washers and dryers available for all. Laundry detergent can be purchased in vending machines located in the laundry rooms.

  For more information, please speak with the Unit Clerk Associate on your child’s unit.

  Hours of operation:

  • 24 hours per day, seven days per week

• Playrooms

  While children are staying in the hospital, they need a place to simply be a kid and not worry about their medical care. At Children’s National, we offer playrooms on each inpatient unit to create a space that is fun, relaxing and social for children. Managed by our Child Life Specialists, all of the playrooms are considered “safe” rooms for children – meaning that no medical procedures can be performed in these rooms.

  The hospital’s playrooms are designed for children of various ages, from very young children to teens. All of the playrooms are equipped with age-appropriate books, toys, games and arts and crafts.

  We also have specific playrooms for adolescents and teens where they can play video games, watch a movie, use a computer or play board games. Children must be supervised by an adult family member at all times while in a playroom.

  Hospitalization can be difficult for the whole family – including our patients’ brothers and sisters. We welcome siblings to use the playrooms and participate in planned supervised activities with the permission of the Child Life Specialist or unit staff. Siblings must be supervised by an adult family member and have completed a health screening.

  Hours of operation:

  • Playrooms are accessible Monday – Friday, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.
  • After hours, families can ask their child’s healthcare provider to unlock a playroom.

• Showers

  Children’s National provides shower facilities for family members during your child’s hospitalization. There are showers for families to use on some of the inpatient units, as well as shower facilities in the family waiting room on the 5th floor of the East Inpatient Tower.

  Hours of operation:

  • 24 hours per day, seven days per week

• Pharmacy and Gift Shop

  Visit the Walgreens located on the first floor Main Hospital in the Costco Wholesale Atrium, to purchase gifts and medications for patients.

  Children’s National physicians can e-prescribe to the hospital’s Walgreens, allowing families to pick up a patient’s prescriptions upon discharge, saving families an additional trip and getting them home faster.

  The Walgreens store also sells smoking cessation items, specialty equipment (like breast pumps), toiletries, gift items (like balloons, cards, toys), and healthy snacks and beverages.

  Hours of Operation

  • Monday - Friday, 8 a.m. - 9 p.m.
  • Saturday and Sunday, 10 a.m. - 6 p.m.

  Gift Deliveries for Patients and Families

  If you would like to deliver an item for a loved one (i.e. flowers, balloons, gift baskets), they must be purchased through an external delivery vendor. The purchaser must indicate patient’s name and room number on the item to ensure delivery. Please note, balloons and other items must be latex-free as Children’s National Hospital is a latex-free environment. Cards for patients may be mailed to the Children’s National Hospital main address and must include the patient’s name and room number.

  Learn more about the pharmacy.

• Fitness Opportunity for Inpatient Families

  The Trinity Center at Trinity University has a $5 per day rate for families to use the fitness center. Many families inquire about fitness opportunities while their child is having inpatient care, and this is an amazing opportunity. Please call the Patient Experience Liaison office at 202-476-2220 if interested and a pass will be given to access the Trinity Center. Families can ride the Brookland Shuttle and transfer to the Trinity shuttle, or enjoy a 10 minute walk to the center.

• Ronald McDonald House at Children's National

  Ronald McDonald House Charities of Greater Washington, D.C., operates the Ronald McDonald Family Room (RMFR) located on the Hematology unit at Children’s National.

  The Ronald McDonald Family Room is a convenient and comfortable space that offers families many of the amenities of home, including a small kitchen and dining area, washer and dryer, business center with computers and a living room/play space. The Ronald McDonald Family Room program is intended to support the hospital's focus on family-centered care by relieving many of the logistical challenges families face and by providing psychosocial support.

  The room is only available to Hematology and Oncology patients and families. Families can contact a Family Room Coordinator at Ronald McDonald House Charities at 202-476-4205 for more information. 

  Hours of operation:

  • Kitchen and washer/dryer are available 24 hours per day, seven days per week.
  • Living room is only open when a RMHC staff member or volunteer is on site.

• Disney Concepts and Experiences

  Children and their families who come to Children’s National get to experience our partnership with Disney. Disney uses the best of its storytelling, beloved characters and creativity to create a more personal and comforting experience for children. See how this initiative comes to life at Children's National.

Financial Amenities

• Automatic Teller Machines (ATMs)

  We offer two conveniently located ATMs in the hospital so our patients and their families can access their bank accounts without ever stepping outside of the hospital.

  • The Capital One ATM is located in the Costco Wholesale Atrium, next to the cashier’s window.
  • The State Employee Credit Union (SECU) ATM is located in the main cafeteria on the 2nd floor.

• Cashier

  The cashier’s window located in the Costco Atrium is available for parents of inpatients who may cash personal checks for amounts up to $25 with proper identification. For more information, call 202-476-5393.

  Discount parking stickers can also be purchased at the cashier window. (Please note that between the hours of 1 – 2 p.m. on weekdays, discount parking stickers are only available at the Parking Office next to the Emergency Department.)

  Hours of operation:

  • Monday – Friday, 10 a.m. – 1 p.m.
  • Monday – Friday, 2 p.m. – 5 p.m.

Food and Drink

• Main Cafeteria

  Our Main Cafeteria, located on the 2nd floor of the main hospital, offers a number of options, including eggs and breakfast foods prepared your way, cereals, bagels, fresh fruit and yogurts, hot entrees with fresh steamed vegetables, pizza and grill areas, fresh salad bar, soups and sandwiches and hot and cold beverages.

  The cafeteria also offers a variety of options for those with food allergies and now has options for people avoiding gluten, including pizza dough and bread products. Learn about avoiding gluten at Children's National.

  Our Children's Dining Card, a rechargeable gift card that can be used in either our Main Cafeteria or Dr. Bear Express Cafés, can be purchased at the registers in these locations.

  Hours

  • Monday – Friday: 6 a.m. - 4 p.m. Closed 10 - 11 a.m.
  • Closed on weekends

• Express Market and Good Grains: Grab 'N' Go

  Grab ‘N’ Go food stations offer beverages, select hot foods, salads, sandwiches and snacks.

  Express Market, located on the 7th floor of the East Inpatient Tower

  • Open 7 days a week: 6 a.m. – 10:30 p.m.
  • Closed from 2:30 – 3:00 p.m. daily

  Good Grains (formerly the Deli), located on the 2nd floor of the Main Hospital

  • Open 7 days a week (closed from 6 – 10 a.m. Monday-Friday)
  • Open 24 hours on weekends

  Online ordering is now available at Good Grains on the 2nd floor through InstaEat. Go to instaeat.com or download the InstaEat app, select your location and place your order for pickup. This service is available Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. - 2 p.m.

• Coffee Bar and Vending Machines

  Coffee Bar

  Need a quick coffee break or a moment to yourself? We have one coffee bar that serves fresh brewed coffee, cappuccino, macchiato, lattes, spiced chai, tea and smoothies. It also offers an assortment of muffins, bagels, cookies and fresh pastries.
  
  Costco Wholesale Atrium Coffee Bar, located on the 1st floor of the Main Hospital
  Monday – Friday: 6 a.m. – 7 p.m. 

  Vending Machines

  Vending machines offer hot and cold food selections as well as snacks and beverages 24 hours a day, seven days a week in the Main Cafeteria, the Emergency Department waiting area and the family waiting rooms on the 3rd and 5th floors of the East Inpatient Tower. Microwave ovens also are available in and around the vending areas.

• Kosher Pantry/Kitchen

  Children’s National Hospital, in collaboration with Bikur Cholim of Greater Washington, maintains a Kosher Pantry/Kitchen on the third floor of the main hospital, near the entrance to the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit. 
  
  The Kosher Pantry/Kitchen at Children’s National was made possible through support from the Gregory Mark Taubin Memorial Fund and in partnership with Bikur Cholim of Greater Washington, a charitable organization that works with hospitals around the Washington area to help Jewish patients and their families.
   
  In the Kosher Pantry/Kitchen, families may:

  • Bring food to prepare
  • Get a kosher snack
  • Share a meal together
  • Enjoy some respite from the patient room
  • Pick up resources provided by Bikur Cholim

  The pantry includes a refrigerator, dairy and meat microwaves, and disposable utensils. Bikur Cholim of Greater Washington volunteers stock the pantry with microwaveable meals and snacks all bearing symbols of national kosher supervision organizations. This organization continues to stock and clean the pantry/kitchen and provides many resources in conjunction with Chaplaincy Services.
  
  Additional supporters of the Kosher Pantry/Kitchen are the Meir L’Olam Fund dedicated in memory of Rabbi Melvin Rishe and Judy and Louis Morris in memory of Chazzan Akiva and Helen Ostrovsky.

  Please ask the nurse manager on your child’s unit for more information about accessing the pantry.

• Dining On Call

  The Department of Food and Nutrition Services provides healthy, balanced, allergy-friendly food options for breakfast, lunch and dinner to patients staying overnight. A restaurant-style menu can be found in each room for the patient to use to order food between the hours of 7 a.m. – 7 p.m. daily. Patients can even order breakfast foods for dinner or traditional dinner foods for breakfast!

  To order, parents and/or caregivers can simply dial x1234 from their bedside phone or 202-476-1234 from an outside phone. A Nutrition Operator greets the patient and assists them through the meal ordering process. All food is prepared fresh to order and is delivered within 45 minutes of the time the order is placed. 

  Since tastes can change quickly in the hospital, Dining On Call allows us to serve whatever food the patient wants right at the time they want it. As we know, patients cannot control much of what happens to them during their hospital stay. By offering them a restaurant-style menu with many different food choices and options, we return a little bit of control to your child and aim to increase their overall sense of comfort.

  The automated system helps our Nutrition Operators check for diet, prescriptions and allergens for each patient. We offer more than 20 specialized menus for patients with dietary or allergy restrictions. 

  Hours of operation:

  • Seven days a week from 7 a.m. – 7 p.m.

  Please note, Dining On Call is not available in any of our post-anesthesia care units (PACUs) or to patients staying overnight in the outpatient surgical center.

  Menus

  Patient Menu | Guest Meal Information

  Menú del Paciente | Información de la bandeja de invitados y cupón para los visitantes

  قائمة طعام المرضى | معلومات اطلب وجبات طعام الضيوف

• Farmers Market

  From May to October, Arcadia Mobile Farmers Market visits our main campus on Wednesdays from 1 – 4 p.m. The market sells fruits, vegetables, eggs and meat. The market is open to everyone and accepts cash, debit, SNAP/EBT (formerly known as "Food Stamps"), WIC, Senior Farmers' Market Nutrition Program vouchers and DC Produce Plus.

  Directions to the market: Exit the East Tower through the double glass doors near the Emergency Department, turn left, walk across the back street to the picnic tables and you will see a 28-foot green bus.

   

Web and Phone Services

• Web

  We offer a complimentary guest wireless network for patients, families and guests at our main campus. To connect, select “Bear Air” as the wireless network on your device.

  Please note: If you do not have a laptop, some family waiting rooms and the Family Resource Center at our main campus have desktop computers with Internet access that you are welcome to use.

• Patient Websites / Caring Bridge

  You can keep your family and friends informed about your child’s health by launching a free webpage. It takes only a few moments to create a secure and convenient online tool where you can post information about your child’s progress at any time and share it with your personal email list. Visit our Patient Websites page for more information or stop by the Family Library for assistance.

• Phone Information

  Most patient rooms have a telephone that can be used free of charge for local calls between 8 a.m. – 8 p.m. Pay phones are also located throughout the hospital. You can find a pay phone on the 1st floor opposite the Welcome Desk, outside of the Emergency Department, and on the 2nd floor in the hall leading to the cafeteria.

  There is a Text Telephone (TTY) at the Welcome Desk in the Costco Wholesale Atrium and at the Welcome Desk outside of the Emergency Department. If you need a TTY telephone in your room, you can arrange this with help from staff on your unit.

  Patients, families and visitors are permitted to use cell phones and wireless devices throughout the hospital. We ask that you consider others around you and keep conversations as quiet as possible. Please note that all cell phones in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) and Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) must be set to vibrate.

   

• Television

  Most patient rooms have television with cable connection, free of charge. If you need a closed-caption decoder, please ask staff on your unit. You can get DVD players from Child Life Services at 202-476-3070 or Volunteer Services at 202-476-2062.