Children's National Medical Center

There’s a lot more to the story than great medical care at Children’s National Medical Center. In 2006, they were ranked ninth in the country for pediatric institutions by US News and World Report. Services at Children’s aren’t just for children, they’re child-centered. A child’s perspective and possible fears are taken into consideration in details from construction and decoration to delivery of medical care.

The main campus of Children’s National Medical Center is located at 111 Michigan Avenue, NW, and they operate Children’s Health Centers in five other locations around the District: Martin Luther King, Jr. Avenue, Good Hope Road, and THEARC (Town Hall Education, Arts, Recreation Campus) in Southeast; and Adams Morgan and Shaw in Northwest. There are also several outpatient centers, specialty locations, and pediatricians’ offices in and outside the Beltway.

Children’s offers classes such as CPR and First Aid, and often has Spanish speaking classes (fee and registration required).

 

Children’s conducts free child safety seat inspections. The American Academy of Pediatrics suggests that children should not ride in a vehicle with only a seatbelt until they are 4’ 9’’ and between 8 and 12 years old, since these restraints are designed for adults. Until then, they should be in a safety seat or booster seat.

 

If your child has an illness or disability, there are several support groups hosted at Children’s main campus and other facilities. Support groups for parents are designed for specific diseases, such as parents of children with Sickle Cell Anemia, and more general disabilities, such as the Physical Disabilities Support Group.

Children’s National Medical Center runs the non-profit Safe Kids Worldwide, dedicated to preventing accidental injuries in children, a leading killer of children under 14.

 

The Children’s website offers a full range of health and medical articles so you can educate yourself on symptoms and taking care of simple problems on your own.