during your visit

At our main campus, our gift shop is located in the Take Flight Gallery around the corner from the Up Cafe. The Altitude Gift Shop has everything from unique gift items to items you may need during your stay here. The gift shop is open Monday through Saturday 8:00 am to 4:00 pm. The gift shop is closed on Sundays and major holidays. 

To order a gift for a patient, call 937-641-3890 Monday through Friday from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm. Unfortunately, we are unable to take orders on weekends or major holidays.

The interfaith chapel is located at our main campus on the first floor of the hospital, across from the pharmacy. It is open 24 hours a day.

A cash machine is available across from the purple elevators at the main campus. There is no fee to use the ATM, though your own bank may charge one.

We know you want to stay connected when you are here. That’s why we offer convenient charging stations for your phone, laptop or tablet free of charge throughout each campus. Ask a staff member where the nearest charging station is located.

Wi-fi is available for free throughout our locations. To access, please check the wireless setting and click on “Dayton Children’s Guest Wireless.” No passwords are required. Please note, TikTok is blocked from use while on our guest wi-fi.

guest wireless terms and conditions

Available for loan at our main entrances and welcome center.

The Ronald McDonald Family Room offers parents, guardians, grandparents and siblings a quiet place to have a break, take a nap in a nap pod, shower, or do laundry, all at no cost. The Family Room also has coffee, snacks, and lite meal options. Located at our main campus, you can get there by taking the patient tower elevators to the first floor, then the yellow elevators to the fourth floor. The Family Room is open Monday-Friday from 8:00 am – 8:00 pm, weekends from 9:00 am – 5:00 pm. Their phone number is 937-641-5875. They welcome up to 4 immediate family members per family per visit. Immediate family members include parents, guardians, grandparents, or siblings of a hospitalized child. Patients are not allowed in the Ronald McDonald Family Room.

Take a tour of the Family Room and see the beautiful space and amenities!

We have a variety of personal care items available at no cost for our inpatient families at main campus. Ask your nurse if you need any of the following:

• Body lotion
• Body wash
• Comb
• Dove(R) deodorant
• Hair brush
• Lip balm
• Loofa
• Mixed Chicks(R) shampoo and conditioner
• Pantene(R) 2-in-1 shampoo/conditioner
• Toothbrush – child or adult

The Up Cafe offers coffee, salads, sandwiches and other grab-and-go items. The main campus also offers frozen yogurt!

Locations and hours:

• At our main campus, it’s located just inside the main entrance of the hospital in our Take Flight Gallery. This cafe is open daily from 6:30 am to 8:00 pm and on holidays it’s open from 6:30 am – 6:30 pm.
• At our south campus, it’s located on the first floor by the emergency department. This cafe is open daily from 6:30 am to 8:00 pm and on holidays it’s open from 6:30 am – 6:30 pm.
• In the Connor Child Health Pavilion, it’s located in the lobby of the main entrance. This cafe is Monday through Friday.  Hours vary.
• In our Specialty Care Center at main campus, it’s located in the lobby of the main entrance on the second floor. This cafe is Monday through Friday. Hours vary.

The Culinairy Kitchen is located on the first floor of the hospital at our main campus in the Take Flight Gallery. It offers a wide variety of fresh, healthy foods and family favorites such as chicken, salads, pizza, sandwiches and more. Hot and cold options are always available, plus there are many grab-and-go options.

Each day the hot food menu varies slightly, but you can always find breakfast options from 6:30 am – 10:00 am, then lunch and dinner options from 11:00 am until close. 

Hours:

Monday – Friday 6:30 am – 8:00 pm

Weekends and holidays 6:30 am – 6:30 pm

There are vending areas in inpatient units and family lounges at our main campus. They are accessible 24 hours a day. Please ask your nurse for vending locations.

We also have vending areas at many of our other locations. Ask the welcome desk for those vending locations.

• Two free meals per room, per day, are available for parents, guardians or caregivers while their child is inpatient. You can have your food delivered to inpatient rooms, or the NICU lounge for families in the NICU. Instead of having food delivered, you can receive a $6 voucher for the Culinairy Kitchen or Up Cafe. View the menu and full details here.
• Order off the patient menu for $5. Trays are delivered to inpatient rooms, or the NICU lounge for families in the NICU. You can pay with a meal voucher or credit card when the tray is delivered. 
• Find coffee, snacks and light meal options for free in the Ronald McDonald Family Room. This room is accessible for parents or guardians, grandparents or siblings of inpatient children.
• Other options:
  • Quick snacks for families are available on most inpatient floors in the family kitchen or snack room.
  • Snacks provided by volunteer resources in the inpatient family lounge areas are typically available on weekday afternoons.

You won’t have to look far to find a play space for kids at most of our locations. Most waiting areas have activities for kids while they wait for their appointments. Plus, our staff is always ready with toys, games or books for kids when they visit. In addition, you will also find these spaces available for families during their visits to Dayton Children’s:

• Our Specialty Care Center at main campus has an outdoor area with a beautiful art display that kids love to go in, plus they can have their picture taken with the wings art installation on the first floor.
• The main hospital lobby is home to the Dragonflyer and an interactive wall where kids can measure their wingspan and speed. A fun area for kids that also shows our appreciation to the long history of innovation in Dayton.
• The main hospital also has a fun play area with a slide that is fenced in next to the emergency department and pharmacy. It is only accessible from inside Dayton Children’s.
• Our south campus has a great playground for families to enjoy between or after their appointments.

For patients and their siblings, activity rooms are located on each floor of our patient tower at main campus. Plus, all units throughout the hospital have toys, games and books for children. All children should be supervised by a parent or guardian while in the play areas.

We have a beautiful SkyDeck located on the fourth floor of the patient tower at our main campus. This outdoor space is open from sunrise to sunset, spring to fall. One side is open to all visitors and the other side is open to our hematology and oncology patient families. Inpatient children need an order from a provider to visit the SkyDeck.

The Children’s Garden is located across Valley Street from Dayton Children’s main campus. Visitors to the garden are greeted by a giant caterpillar welcoming children and families to this whimsical wonderland to play and learn about the natural world. Additional accessible entrances are along Valley Street.

In the garden, a massive green slide, an intricate orange rope-climbing jungle gym and wooden climbing posts encourage children to challenge themselves. A sundial tells the time and an animal pathway takes through kids a maze of fun. Raised garden beds, an orchard and sensory garden also help children connect with nature using all of their senses. The garden has a variety of activities that appeal to varying levels of ability, ages and comfort with nature.

The garden is accessible to patient families, excluding inpatient children, and our Greater Old North Dayton neighborhood and the Dayton area community.

To ensure the Children’s Garden remains a safe place for all children to play and explore, please abide by the following rules:

1. All children should be accompanied by an adult. 
2. Inpatient children are not permitted while they are admitted.
3. Weapons and smoking are not permitted.
4. Skateboards, bikes, rollerblades or scooters are not permitted.
5. Pets, with the exception of service dogs, are not permitted.
6. Proper footwear is required.
7. Playground equipment can get hot. Please check before playing.
8. Do not pick, collect or eat plants or fruit.
9. The park closes at sunset.
10. Use at your own risk.

Parents and legal guardians are encouraged to stay with their child throughout their hospital stay. To help ensure rest and privacy for all patients, overnight stays in patient rooms may be limited to one parent or guardian. Each room includes a chair or couch for resting.

Family lounges and waiting areas are available for added comfort. For everyone’s safety, overnight sleeping in lobbies, waiting rooms, or public areas is not permitted.

Some areas of the hospital, such as our critical care units, newborn intensive care unit (NICU) and mental health inpatient unit, have unique visitation policies to protect our most vulnerable patients. Visiting hours and the number of visitors allowed may be limited depending on your child’s condition and care needs.

Please check with your child’s care team or view our current visitation guidelines before your visit to confirm the most up-to-date information.

The Ronald McDonald House (RMH), is located across the street from Dayton Children’s Hospital – main campus and offers families overnight accommodations as space allows. Those traveling the greatest distances and whose children are very sick are given priority.

The Ronald McDonald House has 21 private guest rooms, a large kitchen with hot meals provided, two family rooms, plus a play area, laundry facilities, a patio and free parking.

Here are a few examples of how the house can serve visitors:

• Day surgery: If the patient is scheduled for day surgery early in the morning, the family can enjoy a more relaxed pace the next day if they check into the RMH the night before.
• Frequent hospitalizations: If the patient has a chronic condition, RMH stays can be helpful during both planned and unplanned hospital visits.
• Lengthy hospitalizations: The RMH is equipped to meet the long-term needs of families if the patient is hospitalized for weeks or months.

Hours

• Office hours: 8:00 am – 5:00 pm
• Registration hours: 9:00 am – 9:00 pm

Please call 937-224-0047 before stopping by as space can be limited. Follow prompts on the automated answering system. Please only call for emergent needs after 9:00 pm.

There are many hotels and motels in all price ranges near the hospital and in communities nearby. 

find hotels near hospital

Dayton Children’s bereavement team is available to meet the needs of our patients and families before, during and after the death of a child. Our team’s response is based on each family’s cultural, religious and individual preferences. Our primary focus is to provide support to children and their families.

Resources available include chaplain service, medical support, counseling intervention and social work. Hand and foot print memories are created at the time of death and are made available to the family when they are ready. Follow-up support mailings occur throughout the first year. Formal support groups and individual family support are also available.

Chaplains, as members of the health care team, give emotional and spiritual care to patients, families and staff members. They offer acceptance and comfort during illness, injury and loss. Our chaplains have extensive training in working with children and their families in times of emotional crisis. Chaplains are either in the hospital or on-call around the clock.

Our interfaith chapel is located at the main campus on the first floor of the hospital, across from the pharmacy. It is open 24 hours a day.

For a kid, coming to the hospital can be very scary. There are new people, new machines and many new sounds. But at Dayton Children’s we work hard to make sure everything is “just right for kids.” This means we have people working around the clock to ensure your child not only feels safe at the hospital, but that they can focus on their most important job… being a kid!

Our child life specialists focus on the emotional support and developmental needs of Dayton Children’s patients and families. As part of a patient’s health care team, child life specialists help a patient cope with illness, injury, treatment and procedures. The child life staff uses play, preparation, education and self-expression activities to help children understand why they are receiving medical care.

learn more about child life

Understanding what’s wrong with your child and how your child will be treated are important if you are to be a partner in your child’s care.

To make sure any communication barriers are addressed, we offer American Sign Language (ASL) services as well as interpreters for many languages. We can best help you if we know ahead of time that it would help you to have a language interpreter during your child’s appointment.

Our staff will be happy to make these arrangements for you. When you talk to the clinic or central scheduling about your child’s appointment, please let them know what language services you will need.

Dayton Children’s offers many of its consent forms, legal documents and education materials in Spanish. Translations into other languages are determined on a case-by-case basis.

Patient relations at Dayton Children’s is dedicated to patient and family advocacy. Representatives in our patient relations department seek feedback from patients and families we serve, identify ways to continually improve our service to patients and families and work with families to resolve any concerns they may have.

Contact us Monday through Friday from 8:00 am to 4:30 pm by calling 937-641-3306 or by emailing patientrelations@childrensdayton.org.

A child’s growing body often responds to drug therapy differently than an adult’s would. At Dayton Children’s, our pediatric pharmacists have specialized training which allows them to work with your child’s doctor to help ensure the safe and effective use of medication in the tiniest babies all the way up to fully grown young adults. We have pharmacies at our main and south campuses, so you can fill your child’s prescription while here for your visit.

learn more about pharmacy services

The department of social work consults on the psychosocial evaluation and treatment of patients and families. Each social worker is uniquely qualified and has extensive experience to assist families with a variety of obstacles and concerns. 

If you need social work assistance, contact the department at 937-641-5300 or ask a member of your medical team. If you need to speak to a social worker after business hours, on the weekends or holidays, call 937-641-3000.

• Child protection: assessment and intervention in cases of suspected physical, emotional or sexual abuse as well as issues of physical, psychological or medical neglect and noncompliance.
• Crisis intervention: evaluation, referral and/or treatment in instances of drug abuse, adolescent pregnancy, drug ingestion, death and dying support, clarification of legal or custody matters, problems in parent-child adjustment to hospitalization and mediation with hostile or agitated parents.
• Family assessments: evaluation and counseling for marital problems, family conflicts, parenting skills, need for home support services, residential care or placement and management of basic survival needs.
• Specialty care/chronic illness: Initial evaluation and long-term support for patients and families making the adjustment to catastrophic illness or injury.
• Support groups, general information and referral services are available to the public. Other services are limited to patients and families using Dayton Children’s inpatient, outpatient or emergency services.