Believe in Tomorrow Children’s House*

Phone: 410-614-2560

The Believe in Tomorrow Children’s House at Johns Hopkins is located at 1915 McElderry Street, across from the hospital’s Wolfe Street entrance.

The four-level, 15-unit brick building provides an inexpensive home-away-from-home for patients and their families who are undergoing treatment at Johns Hopkins Children’s Center. Families are charged $20 per night, must live more than 60 miles or 60 minutes from the Children’s Center and be compatible with group living. Amenities include communal kitchen and dining rooms, children’s game rooms and living room. Volunteers help provide meals. It is available to families with critically ill children through referral by social workers and nurses; reservations are not taken. Considerations include severity of illness, financial need, length of stay, distance from home and availability of alternate arrangements (bedside sleeper or parent room). Check-in is from noon to 8 p.m.; checkout by noon. The Believe In Tomorrow National Children’s Foundation offers additional housing in the area and state for families, who are also referred by social workers and nurses:

• Housing in Ocean City, Maryland — Two houses (one by the sea and one by the bay) for respite, vacation for families of critically ill children.
• Housing on Fenwick Island, Maryland — House for respite, vacation for families of critically ill children.
• Housing in Towson, Maryland — Apartment for the family of a critically ill child, provided in partnership with the Lane Company.
• Housing on Wisp Mountain — House in McHenry, Maryland 

The foundation offers a special entertainment package for those staying in its related housing, funded by participating corporations and private donors. Donated passes to the National Aquarium in Baltimore, the Maryland Science Center and other destinations are available.

Ronald McDonald House*

Phone: 410-528-1010 (ext. 0)

The Ronald McDonald House provides a temporary home-away-from-home for families of seriously ill children. Over the past two decades, Maryland’s Ronald McDonald House in Baltimore has been home to more than 36,000 families, with approximately half of those children treated at the Children’s Center. The Ronald McDonald House serves as a temporary residence near the hospital where family members can sleep, eat, relax and find support from other families in similar situations. A hospital social worker, unit nurse or doctor must refer the family. Families are welcome to stay while their child is inpatient or receiving three or more outpatient visits per week. Rooms, at a cost of $15 per night, are assigned on a priority basis, and reservations are confirmed three days before arrival. Regular check-in hours are from 2 to 7 p.m., late check-ins are also available. Parking for one car per family is included in the stay; the Ronald McDonald House shuttle service is available Monday through Friday, and the Johns Hopkins shuttle is available on the weekends.

*Please note that both the Ronald McDonald House and the Children’s House require a referral from your child’s health care team. Subsequent visits may be scheduled by the family.

Patient/Family Resources

Children's and Family Resource Library

The Grace Rhea Garrett Children’s library on Bloomberg 3 provides a collection of books for inpatient children of all ages as well as print resources for their parents. The Library hosts other special events such as a free weekly family lunch and chair massage for parents. We welcome visitors into the library between the hours of 9 a.m. and 4 p.m., Monday-Friday.

Family Care Coordinator

Phone: 410-955-1821

The family care coordinator, a link between you and the hospital staff, will connect you with needed resources and help address concerns and resolve any problems.

Playrooms and Activity Rooms

In these supervised settings, children play and interact with Child Life specialists, parents, siblings, friends and other patients. Please speak with your child’s nurse about any precautions, limitations or other pertinent health information before using a playroom. Please see your child life specialist regarding hours of operation.

Cooley Fitness and Recreation Center

Phone: 410-955-2513

The Denton A. Cooley Center, which includes strength training and aerobic exercise programs, is available to families at a cost of $5 per day, $15 per week or $36 per month. Family members wishing to use the Cooley Center must request a letter from the family care coordinator or social worker verifying their child is hospitalized. The center is located on campus off McElderry Street between Broadway and N. Caroline Street.

Hours:
Mon-Fri, 6 a.m. - 9 p.m.
Sat-Sun, 10 a.m.- 6 p.m. 

Bioethics Consultation

Pager: 36104

Advances in medical technology can raise difficult questions about what can and should be done to treat a child. Such decisions are usually reached by the family, the physician or the child, if he or she is mature enough. When concerns or disagreements arise, consultation with the hospital’s ethics committee may be helpful. A request for a consultation may come from a family member, a legal guardian, a health care professional involved in the patient’s care or the patient.

Informed Decisions and Advance Directives

Advance directives are documents you create to tell us your wishes about medical treatment. Anyone aged 18 or older who has the ability to make an informed decision has the right to make medical treatment decisions for you (a health care agent or proxy) should you become unable to make your own decisions. For more information or to receive the forms for advance directives, please call the Admitting Office at 410-955-6190 or Pastoral Care at 410-955-5842. If you already have advance directives, please bring a copy to the hospital.