Patient Services and Hospital Amenities

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.