Children’s Hosp. in Washington DC: Pediatric Care & Info

Pediatric Hospital Guide · Washington DC · Children’s National

Children’s Hospital in Washington DC contact, emergency care, appointments, portal, records, billing, visitor info, parking, and pediatric services

Children’s Hospital in Washington DC most commonly refers to Children’s National Hospital, the pediatric hospital at 111 Michigan Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20010.

Use this guide to call the right number, find the emergency department, schedule pediatric care, use MyChildrensPortal, request medical records, plan parking and visitor access, check billing and financial-assistance options, and prepare for your child’s visit.

Emergency? If your child has a serious or life-threatening emergency, call 911 immediately. Children’s National lists 24/7 pediatric emergency care at the main hospital, but this guide is not a substitute for emergency medical advice or the hospital’s real-time instructions.
Official hospital Children’s National

Main pediatric hospital campus in Washington, DC.

Main address 111 Michigan Ave NW

Washington, DC 20010.

Appointments 1-888-884-2327

Also written as 1-888-884-BEAR.

Emergency care 24/7 pediatric ED

Use 911 for life-threatening emergencies.

Medical records 202-476-5267

Records may also be available through MyChildrensPortal.

Billing help 301-572-3542

Use for billing customer-service questions.

About Children’s National Hospital in Washington, DC

Children’s National is a pediatric hospital and health system serving children and families in Washington, DC, Maryland, Virginia, and beyond.

Children’s National Hospital’s main campus is located at 111 Michigan Avenue NW in Washington, DC. Families use this campus for pediatric emergency care, inpatient care, specialty services, surgery, imaging, diagnostics, clinics, and complex pediatric care.

The hospital’s official U.S. News information says Children’s National is ranked in all 11 pediatric specialties and remains the highest-ranked children’s hospital in Washington, DC, Maryland, and Virginia. For families, the practical takeaway is to start with the appointment line, portal, medical-records page, or emergency page depending on what your child needs today.

Use the hospital
For emergency care, inpatient care, surgery, specialty consults, complex pediatric testing, hospital-based imaging, and care coordination.
Use primary care
For routine checkups, vaccines, forms, mild illness, medication follow-up, school paperwork, and ongoing pediatric care.
Use the portal
For available medical records, visit information, refill requests, scheduling support, and messages to care teams when appropriate.
Use 911
For severe breathing problems, blue lips, seizures, major trauma, stroke-like symptoms, severe allergic reaction, or any life-threatening emergency.

Children’s National Hospital contact information

Use the official numbers below before calling a third-party listing.

Contact item Official detail Use it for
Hospital name Children’s National Hospital Pediatric hospital, emergency, specialty, inpatient, surgical, and family-support information.
Main hospital address 111 Michigan Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20010 GPS directions, parking planning, patient mail, campus navigation, and appointment arrival.
Appointments / Bear Line 1-888-884-2327 Scheduling pediatric specialty care, primary care, and visit-routing questions.
Medical Records 202-476-5267 Records release, copies, forms, and help finding records not available through the portal.
Billing Customer Service 301-572-3542 Hospital bills, physician bills, payment questions, insurance, and financial-assistance routing.
Emergency Department Main hospital campus, 111 Michigan Avenue NW Pediatric emergency care. For life-threatening symptoms, call 911 first.
Hours note: The main hospital lists 24/7 pediatric emergency care. Clinic, department, visitor, billing, records, and appointment-office hours may differ, so check the specific Children’s National page or call before visiting for non-emergency services.

Emergency visits at Children’s National Hospital

Children’s National’s emergency pages explain pediatric emergency care at the main hospital campus. Use 911 for life-threatening symptoms.

Go now or call 911

Severe breathing trouble, blue lips, major trauma, seizure, unconsciousness, severe allergic reaction, poisoning, serious burns, or uncontrolled bleeding should be treated as an emergency.

Bring key information

Bring medications, allergies, medical history, recent discharge papers, specialist names, vaccine information, and insurance card when available.

Emergency wait times

Children facing a life-threatening emergency are prioritized. Less urgent concerns may wait while critical patients are treated first.

Pediatric focus

The emergency department is built around children’s needs, including pediatric emergency medicine, trauma, child-friendly care, and family communication.

Do not use online scheduling for emergencies: If symptoms are severe or getting worse quickly, call 911 or go to a verified emergency department.

How to make an appointment at Children’s National

Children’s National offers several appointment paths depending on whether your child needs primary care, specialty care, follow-up, or a new-patient visit.

Call the Bear Line or use the official appointment page. Use 1-888-884-2327 for appointment help, or start from the official Make an Appointment page.
Know the reason for the visit. Have the diagnosis, symptoms, referral reason, test results, doctor’s name, and preferred department ready.
Ask whether a referral is required. Some specialty visits may require referral records, prior authorization, insurance review, or medical notes before scheduling.
Use MyChildrensPortal when appropriate. Portal features may include scheduling, records access, refill requests, and care-team messaging.
Confirm location before arrival. Children’s National has many locations across DC, Maryland, and Virginia. Confirm whether your child’s appointment is at the main hospital or another clinic.
Appointment script: “I’m trying to schedule care for my child at Children’s National. The concern is ____. We have a referral from ____. Which department should we see, what records are needed, and which location should we go to?”

Pediatric departments, specialty care, and services

Children’s National provides pediatric specialty and hospital services across many departments and care centers.

Emergency Medicine and Trauma

Pediatric emergency, trauma, urgent evaluation, and stabilization at the main hospital emergency department.

Cardiology and Heart Care

Cardiology, cardiac imaging, heart surgery, interventional cardiology, electrophysiology, cardiac intensive care, and related subspecialty care.

Neurology and Neurosurgery

Care for brain, spine, nerve, epilepsy, neuro-oncology, neonatal neurology, and complex neurological conditions.

Cancer and Blood Disorders

Pediatric oncology, hematology, brain tumor care, blood disorders, and complex cancer-support programs.

Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine

Bone, joint, spine, sports injury, fracture, trauma, surgical, and rehabilitation-related pediatric care.

Surgical Care

Pediatric surgery, general and thoracic surgery, cardiac surgery, neurosurgery, orthopaedic surgery, urology, and procedure planning.

Neonatology and Prenatal Pediatrics

Newborn intensive care, prenatal pediatric coordination, complex infant care, and specialty newborn programs.

Primary and Specialty Locations

Children’s National has primary care, specialty care, pediatrician offices, and affiliate locations throughout DC, Maryland, and Virginia.

Department routing tip: Not every clinic is inside the main hospital. Always confirm the exact campus, floor, entrance, parking option, and arrival time when scheduling.

MyChildrensPortal: patient portal for records, messages, scheduling, and refills

Children’s National describes MyChildrensPortal as a secure place to manage a child’s health information and communicate with care teams.

Portal task What it may help with When to call instead
Access records View available visit information, results, and medical-record details tied to the account. Call Medical Records if the document is missing, older, needs release, or must be sent to another organization.
Schedule or manage visits Request or manage eligible appointments through the portal. Call the Bear Line for urgent scheduling, referral confusion, multiple specialties, or location questions.
Request refills Ask for eligible medication refill support. Call if your child is out of a critical medication, having side effects, or needs same-day help.
Message care teams Ask non-urgent follow-up questions to the care team. Do not message for emergencies, severe symptoms, or rapidly worsening conditions.
Link multiple children Parents and caregivers may manage more than one child through one portal setup where permitted. Call portal support or the clinic if access is blocked or proxy permission needs review.
Portal safety: Children’s National’s portal page says that if it is a life-threatening emergency, call 911.

Medical records at Children’s National

Use the official medical-records page or MyChildrensPortal when you need copies, releases, or record transfers.

Check MyChildrensPortal first. Some information may already be available through the portal.
Use the online medical-record request tool. Children’s National says families can request that records be released to the caregiver or a designated person or organization.
Prepare exact details. Have the child’s full legal name, date of birth, dates of service, department, provider, and destination for the records.
For outside organizations, use the right route. Healthcare providers and third-party requesters may use the hospital’s listed online request options.
Call when timing matters. Contact Medical Records at 202-476-5267 if a school, insurer, specialist, court, employer, or agency deadline is approaching.
Records request script: “I need my child’s Children’s National medical records for dates ____. Please tell me whether the records are available in MyChildrensPortal or whether I need to submit a release request.”

Visitor guidelines, ID badges, patient rooms, and family planning

Visitor rules can vary by department, patient condition, infection control, unit, and hospital policy.

Visitor topic Official guidance to check Practical tip
Outpatient and ED visits Children’s National says it is preferred that no more than two people accompany each patient to outpatient appointments or Emergency Department visits. Bring only essential caregivers when possible.
Bedside visitors General bedside guidance allows up to four visitors, with lower limits for certain units such as ICUs, adolescent/child psychiatry, and bone marrow transplant. Ask the unit directly before inviting family members.
Visitor ID Visitors may need photo identification and hospital-issued badges. Bring government-issued ID and allow extra check-in time.
Items not allowed The visitor page lists items that are not permitted at Children’s National locations. Check the official list before bringing balloons, food, equipment, or large items.
Mail or packages Items may be sent to 111 Michigan Avenue NW with the patient’s name and room number. Confirm room number, restrictions, and discharge timing first.
Visitor-rule warning: Always check the latest Children’s National visitor page before arrival. Hospital visitor limits can change for safety, infection-control, unit-specific, and patient-specific reasons.

Directions, parking, garage work, and campus navigation

Children’s National’s directions page says the main campus address can be entered into GPS as 111 Michigan Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20010.

Main campus parking

Children’s National notes that its main hospital campus parking garage is undergoing renovations and repairs, so families should allow extra time when arriving for appointments.

Parking validation

The directions page says parking tickets can be validated at the Main Welcome Desk, East Welcome Desk, and Parking Office.

Longer stays

Seven-day and 30-day parking passes may offer unlimited in-and-out access to the visitor parking area for the duration of the pass.

Wayfinding

Use the official hospital map for arrival level, transportation hub, emergency department, ambulance bay, welcome desks, elevators, and visitor services.

Parking tip: Add extra time for garage construction, check the floor or tower before arrival, and keep your parking ticket with you for validation.

Insurance, billing, payment, and price transparency

Children’s National provides official billing, payment, insurance, financial-assistance, and price-transparency resources.

Billing need Official route What to ask
Billing question Call Billing Customer Service at 301-572-3542. Ask about account number, statement type, insurance adjustment, payment plan, or balance status.
Pay a bill Use the official secure payment portal from the Children’s National billing pages. Confirm whether you are paying a hospital bill, physician bill, primary-care bill, or rehabilitation/specialized-care bill.
Insurance accepted Use the official insurance page and call your insurer. Confirm in-network status, referral requirement, prior authorization, copay, coinsurance, deductible, and facility fees.
Standard charges Use the Hospital Services and Charges page for downloadable standard-charge and contracted-rate information. Request an individualized estimate because actual patient responsibility depends on insurance and care needs.
Surprise billing questions Use the hospital’s billing and hospital-services-and-charges pages plus your insurance plan. Ask whether out-of-network protections, emergency-care protections, or state/federal balance-billing rules apply.
Estimate warning: Hospital charges are not the same as your final cost. Always confirm with Children’s National and your insurance plan before scheduled care when possible.

Financial assistance and uninsured families

Children’s National states that financial assistance may be available for eligible patients and that financial counselors can help uninsured families review options.

Financial Assistance Policy

The hospital has a Financial Assistance Policy for eligible patients who need help with emergency or medically necessary care.

Uninsured support

Billing guidance says financial counselors can help families determine eligibility for Medical Assistance or other health coverage options.

Emergency care

Children’s National’s financial-assistance page states it follows EMTALA requirements for emergency screening and stabilizing treatment.

Ask early

Contact billing or financial assistance as soon as you receive a statement, especially if income, insurance, or address information changed.

International patients and families traveling to Washington, DC

Children’s National has international-patient resources for families traveling from outside the United States.

Before travel
Gather medical records in English, physician summaries, imaging, lab reports, medication lists, passports, visas, and appointment confirmations.
Arrival planning
International-patient travel guidance recommends planning arrival before the initial appointment when travel logistics require it.
Payment planning
Ask Global Services and billing teams about estimates, deposits, insurance, translated records, and financial documentation.
Hospital campus
Use 111 Michigan Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20010 for the main hospital unless your appointment confirmation lists another site.

Checklist before visiting Children’s National Hospital

A good checklist helps reduce delays at registration, parking, security, and the clinic desk.

Bring documents

  • Photo ID for parent or guardian.
  • Insurance card and referral if required.
  • Appointment confirmation and location details.
  • Medical records, imaging, or lab results if requested.

Bring health details

  • Current medications and doses.
  • Allergies and reactions.
  • Specialist names and primary-care doctor.
  • Recent symptoms, dates, and treatments tried.

Plan the campus visit

  • Confirm main hospital versus another location.
  • Allow extra parking time.
  • Check visitor rules before leaving home.
  • Know the department, floor, and arrival desk.

After the visit

  • Save discharge instructions.
  • Confirm medication instructions.
  • Schedule follow-up before leaving if possible.
  • Use MyChildrensPortal for available records and messages.

Children’s National Hospital map and directions

Use this map for the main hospital campus. Confirm your exact clinic location before traveling because Children’s National has many regional sites.

Children’s National Hospital
111 Michigan Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20010
Appointments: 1-888-884-2327
Medical Records: 202-476-5267
Billing: 301-572-3542

For emergencies, call 911. For scheduled visits, check parking, visitor rules, and appointment location before arrival.

Official source checklist for this Children’s Hospital in Washington DC guide

Use these Children’s National pages for final verification because services, visitor rules, billing, parking, and appointment instructions can change.

Official source What it verifies After opening it
Children’s National Main Hospital Main campus address, appointment number, patient portal link, and 24/7 pediatric emergency care. Use for the main hospital overview and direct appointment/portal paths.
Contact Us Appointment line, address, medical-records number, billing number, and important phone numbers. Use before calling a third-party number.
Emergency Visits Emergency department address and emergency-visit guidance. Use for emergency planning, but call 911 for life-threatening symptoms.
Make an Appointment Scheduling options and appointment-preparation guidance. Use when choosing specialty, primary care, or new-patient scheduling.
Patient Portal MyChildrensPortal functions including records, scheduling, refill requests, messages, and emergency warning. Use for non-emergency account and care-team communication tasks.
Medical Records Online medical-record request process and portal availability. Use to request release of records to a caregiver, school, provider, insurer, or other organization.
Visiting Hours and Guidelines Visitor limits, ID expectations, bedside guidance, outpatient/ED companion guidance, and item restrictions. Check before inviting visitors or bringing items to the hospital.
Directions and Parking Main address, parking renovation warning, validation locations, and long-term parking-pass guidance. Use before driving to the main campus.
Insurance and Billing Billing process, payment options, insurance, medical-records links, and financial-assistance resources. Use before paying a bill or contacting financial counseling.
Financial Assistance Financial Assistance Policy and emergency-care assistance language. Use if cost, insurance, or eligibility questions may affect care planning.
Independent guide notice: This website is not Children’s National Hospital and does not schedule appointments, provide emergency advice, update visitor rules, release records, process bills, or verify insurance. Use official Children’s National pages and phone numbers for final decisions.

Children’s Hospital in Washington DC FAQs

Common questions about Children’s National Hospital contact details, emergency care, appointments, portal access, records, billing, visitor rules, parking, and services.

1. What is the main children’s hospital in Washington, DC?
The main pediatric hospital most people mean is Children’s National Hospital, located at 111 Michigan Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20010.
2. What is the phone number for Children’s National Hospital appointments?
The appointment phone number is 1-888-884-2327, also written as 1-888-884-BEAR.
3. Does Children’s National Hospital have a pediatric emergency department?
Yes. Children’s National lists 24/7 pediatric emergency care at the main hospital campus. For life-threatening emergencies, call 911 immediately.
4. How do I access MyChildrensPortal?
Use the official Children’s National Patient Portal page. MyChildrensPortal can help with available records, scheduling, refill requests, care-team messages, and related account tasks.
5. How do I request medical records from Children’s National?
Use the official Medical Records page or call Medical Records at 202-476-5267. Some information may also be available through MyChildrensPortal.
6. What is the billing phone number for Children’s National?
Billing Customer Service is listed as 301-572-3542. Use the official billing pages for payment options, insurance, financial assistance, and price transparency.
7. What should I bring to a Children’s National appointment?
Bring parent or guardian photo ID, insurance card, referral if required, medication list, allergies, prior records, imaging, lab results, appointment confirmation, and any forms requested by the department.
8. Can visitors come with a child to Children’s National?
Visitor rules vary by visit type and unit. The official visitor page says no more than two people are preferred for outpatient appointments and Emergency Department visits, with separate bedside limits for inpatient units and special areas.
9. Where do families park at Children’s National Hospital?
Use the official Directions and Parking page for current parking instructions. Children’s National notes garage renovations at the main campus and recommends allowing extra arrival time.
10. Is Children’s National only for Washington, DC residents?
No. Children’s National serves families from Washington, DC, Maryland, Virginia, and beyond through the main hospital, specialty locations, primary-care sites, affiliate locations, and international-patient resources.