Total Number of Beds
Children’s National Medical Center runs 323 licensed beds at its main facility, the Sheikh Zayed Campus for Advanced Pediatric Medicine in Washington, D.C. The hospital focuses on specialized pediatric care in the nation’s capital region.
The bed count has grown over recent years. In 2017, the Sheikh Zayed Campus had 313 beds. The facility added 10 more beds to meet growing demand for pediatric services. These 323 staffed beds handle all types of inpatient care. This ranges from general pediatrics to complex surgical cases that need intensive monitoring.
How Children’s National Compares Across the Country
Children’s National sits in the mid-range tier for bed capacity among leading pediatric hospitals. Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston leads the nation with 905 beds. Cincinnati Children’s operates 711 beds. Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus has 701 beds.
Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta runs 789 beds across its network. Rady Children’s Hospital in San Diego has 425 beds. Children’s National’s 323 beds put it below these larger systems. But it still ranks among the top pediatric facilities across the country.
The bed count doesn’t affect the hospital’s clinical excellence. Children’s National ranks in U.S. News & World Report’s top pediatric hospitals. This happens even with fewer beds than some competitors. The facility puts quality over volume. Resources go to specialized programs like cardiology, oncology, and neonatology. Outcomes matter more than bed numbers in these areas.
The 323 Children medical bed capacity helps Children’s National keep good patient-to-staff ratios. The hospital serves around 125,000 emergency department visits each year. It also handles 10,000 surgical procedures per year.
Bed Type and Specialized Units
Children’s National Medical Center splits its 323 licensed beds across different specialized units. Each unit handles a specific level of pediatric care. The hospital assigns beds based on how sick patients are and what care they need. No one-size-fits-all approach here.
Critical Care Bed Distribution
The Level IIIC Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) runs 54 bassinets for very sick newborns and premature infants. This is the top level of newborn care you can get. Level IIIC NICUs handle the toughest cases. Think babies born at very low birth weights. Or babies who need surgery. Plus infants with serious birth defects.
The Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) has beds for children with life-threatening conditions beyond the newborn stage. PICU beds serve patients after major surgeries. Also trauma victims. And children with serious breathing problems or organ failure. These units keep more nurses per patient than regular pediatric floors. They also have better monitoring equipment.
Children’s National opened a Cardiac Intensive Care Unit in 2020. This ICU treats only children with complex heart problems. Patients come here after heart surgery. Or to manage severe heart failure. The cardiac ICU keeps these cases separate from the general PICU. This gives focused expertise and special equipment for heart monitoring.
Surgical and Procedure Facilities
The hospital has 17 operating rooms set up for all types of pediatric surgeries. These ORs do everything from basic tonsil removals to complex brain surgery and organ transplants. The facility also runs 2 GI procedure rooms built for scope procedures and digestive system work.
The surgical setup supports 19,564 surgeries performed annually. This high number shows the hospital’s role as a regional center for complex pediatric cases. The 17 operating rooms let the hospital run multiple procedures at once. Plus they keep room open for emergencies.
Specialized Treatment Units
The Blood and Marrow Transplantation outpatient unit has beds for children getting stem cell transplants and cellular therapy. Some transplant patients need full hospital admission. But this outpatient unit lets stable patients get treatment without staying overnight. This cuts infection risk. It also makes life better during long treatment plans.
General pediatric beds fill the rest of the capacity beyond critical care and special units. These beds take children admitted for pneumonia, asthma flare-ups, infections, or recovery after surgery that doesn’t need close watching. Medical and surgical floor beds usually have fewer staff per patient than critical care areas.
The bed setup at Children’s National shows modern pediatric hospital design. Hospitals now give more beds to intensive care and special units than they did decades ago. Medical progress lets more children with complex conditions survive and get treatment. This moves bed allocation toward higher-need units. The 54 NICU bassinets alone make up about 17% of total bed space. This shows the hospital’s focus on newborn critical care as a key service.
Additional Facility Information
Children’s National Medical Center runs 30+ outpatient locations across the Washington, D.C. metro area. The network reaches far beyond the main Sheikh Zayed Campus. Eight Regional Outpatient Centers bring specialized pediatric care closer to families. Parents can get appointments near home instead of driving to the main hospital.
The Montgomery County Regional Outpatient Center in Rockville, Maryland is one of the largest satellite sites. These regional centers offer specialty consultations, diagnostic imaging, and lab work in suburban areas. Families living outside D.C. save travel time. The outpatient network includes Children’s National Specialists of Virginia, LLC. This brings services to Northern Virginia communities.
Emergency care extends beyond the main campus. Children’s National runs two Emergency Departments. The primary ED is at the Sheikh Zayed Campus in D.C. The second ED is at the United Medical Center campus. Two emergency sites help the hospital serve different parts of the region faster. Both EDs are part of the Level I pediatric trauma center in Washington, D.C.
The hospital handles huge patient numbers through its outpatient network. The system processes 652,346 outpatient visits per year. That’s over 1,700 outpatient appointments every day. The facilities conduct 135,368 diagnostic imaging procedures each year. Plus lab services run 1,364,480 lab tests across all locations.
A rooftop helipad sits on top of the main hospital building. This landing pad connects to a Critical Care Transport program. The program runs ground ambulances, helicopters, and fixed-wing airplanes. The transport service covers three areas: Washington D.C., Maryland, and Virginia. These aircraft bring very sick children from smaller hospitals to Children’s National for higher-level care.
The hospital trains the next generation of pediatric specialists. Children’s National educates 200+ residents and fellows each year. The facility employs 6,000+ total staff members. This includes 1,500 nurses and 900 physicians across all locations and departments.
Ownership and Affiliation
Children’s National Medical Center runs as an independent nonprofit hospital. It has its own governance structure. No other hospital systems control it. This independence lets the hospital set clinical priorities. Resources go to pediatric care. No larger health network oversees operations.
The hospital has no parent company. No ownership group controls what it does. A Board of Directors guides key decisions. They oversee hospital leadership. This setup keeps focus on pediatric medicine. The hospital doesn’t split attention across adult care or other facility types.
Academic Partnerships
Children’s National partners with two medical schools in Washington, D.C. These partnerships build the training programs. The hospital works with George Washington University School of Medicine. Together, they train pediatric residents and specialists. GW medical students rotate through Children’s National. They get hands-on clinical experience in pediatrics.
The facility also partners with Howard University College of Medicine. Medical students and residents come to Children’s National for pediatric rotations. They get specialty training here. Both partnerships strengthen the hospital’s teaching mission. Medical schools get access to a major pediatric center.
These partnerships support the hospital’s 200+ residents and fellows trained each year. The academic ties provide curriculum support. Faculty appointments go to physicians teaching at Children’s National. These medical school ties help recruit new doctors. Many who train at the hospital stay on staff after their programs end.
The nonprofit structure works with university partnerships. This positions Children’s National as a community-focused academic medical center. Revenue goes back into hospital operations. It funds research programs. It expands pediatric services. No money goes to shareholders or parent organizations.
Location
Children’s National Medical Center’s main campus is at 111 Michigan Avenue NW, Washington, D.C. 20010. The Sheikh Zayed Campus uses this address in the nation’s capital. The hospital sits right in Washington’s medical district.
The Michigan Avenue site puts Children’s National close to several major healthcare centers. The campus is in the Petworth neighborhood of Northwest D.C. Families can get here from Interstate 395 and other major highways linking Maryland, Virginia, and D.C.
Getting to the Main Campus
You have several ways to reach the hospital. The Georgia Avenue-Petworth Metro station on the Green and Yellow lines is closest. Bus routes run along the Michigan Avenue corridor. Street parking is available, plus the hospital has parking garages for families who drive.
The 111 Michigan Avenue address is home to the hospital’s 323 licensed beds. All major inpatient services run from this campus. The emergency department operates here. So do the operating rooms, NICU, and specialized units. Everything functions at this single Washington, D.C. address.
The central D.C. spot lets Children’s National serve patients across the metro region. Families come from Maryland suburbs and Northern Virginia to reach the Michigan Avenue campus. The rooftop helipad receives transport aircraft. These bring very sick children from referring hospitals across the mid-Atlantic area.
Recognition and Rankings
U.S. News & World Report ranks Children’s National Hospital at #5 in the nation for 2023 pediatric care. The hospital has held a top 10 spot for eight straight years through 2024. Children’s National stands among elite pediatric centers. This happens even with fewer beds than many competitors.
The hospital earned #1 in the nation for newborn care. This top spot lasted over five years through 2020. The 54-bassinet Level IIIC NICU at the Sheikh Zayed Campus powers this leading position. Level IIIC designation goes to the most advanced newborn units. Children’s National holds this status while treating the region’s sickest babies.
Specialty Performance Across Multiple Departments
U.S. News & World Report evaluates Children’s National across all pediatric specialties. Cancer care ranks #7 in the nation. Brain and nervous system programs earned a #9 ranking in neurology and neurosurgery. Regional scores show even better results. Children’s National takes #5 in the Mid-Atlantic region for neonatology, cancer, and neurology/neurosurgery combined.
These rankings track clinical outcomes. Bed counts and facility size matter less. The 323 licensed beds focus on quality over volume. Patient safety scores count. So do infection rates and survival statistics. Children’s National competes with hospitals that have two or three times more beds. The steady top-10 placement shows clinical excellence beats total capacity.
Research Funding and Innovation Support
Children’s National ranks 7th in the nation for NIH pediatric research funding. Federal research dollars go to proven institutions. The hospital got $96 million for rare pediatric brain tumor research in 2023. Many hospitals don’t see this much in their entire annual research budget.
The National Institutes of Health gave Children’s National $6.7 million for lab expansion at the Children’s National Research & Innovation Campus in 2021. Federal agencies picked the hospital as one of five top children’s facilities. These five got $29 million in pandemic readiness funding in 2022. The grants show the hospital’s strength in daily pediatric care and emergency response.
