Family and visitor passes
Family Centered Care
The Comfort Zone
Accommodations
Cell Phones
Visiting hours
Balloons

Identification badges are required 24 hours a day on floors three through eight. All visitors/family members should get ID badges at the Welcome Center on the first floor of the Children's Clinics Building lobby.

Parents and grandparents are to wear family ID badges until their child is discharged. All other family members and friends are to wear visitor ID badges, which are turned in after each visit. There are drop boxes located in the second floor skywalk.

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At Children's Hospital of Wisconsin we support the idea of family-centered care. This means we want a partnership with open, ongoing communication between family members and health care providers.

Our goal is to support families in their care-giving roles by building on their strengths.

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The Comfort Zone™

The Comfort Zone is our pledge that we will do our best to keep your child comfortable during his or her visit. Our physicians, nurses and other health care providers are committed to this objective.

We invite you to join us as key members of the team. Tell us how your child reacts to painful or difficult situations and what comfort measures have worked in the past. We will offer you information about pain management choices and ways you can help keep your child comfortable while at the hospital and at home.

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Hotels and motels
A list of nearby hotels and motels is available from Patient Relations. Many of them offer discounts to parents of Children's Hospital patients.

In the hospital
A single sleeper couch is available in most patient rooms for one parent or grandparent to stay. Please inform your child's nurse if you wish to stay overnight. You will be asked wear to appropriate sleep attire, such as pajamas or sweats that cover your whole body. The hospital will provide linens and a pillow. You will need to bring your own toiletries. Siblings and other minor children are not allowed to stay overnight.

Several sleeping rooms are available for parents of children in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit and the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. Rooms can be reserved on a daily basis. Please ask your child's nurse about room arrangements if you wish to stay overnight. Bathrooms and showers for parents are available; please ask your child's nurse.

Ronald McDonald House
Overnight accommodations are available for families of children receiving inpatient or outpatient treatment at Milwaukee area hospitals. If a family needs to stay at Ronald McDonald House while a child is being seen on an ongoing outpatient basis, they must complete a form signed by the attending physician stating that the patient needs to be close to the hospital. Please contact Family Services for details at (414) 266-2800. When the office is closed, please have your child's nurse contact the house for arrangements.

If you have stayed at Ronald McDonald House before, you may call it directly at (414) 475-5333 to be placed on their waiting list.

Beepers
In certain circumstances, beepers are available when you need to leave the hospital for short periods of time, but want to maintain contact with the hospital. Contact your child's nurse for assistance.

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Phones are prohibited in the following areas of the hospital: Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU), Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), 4 West, Operating Rooms (within actual rooms), Post Anesthesia Recovery Unit, Hemodialysis treatment area, Radiology exam rooms, Cardiac Cath Lab, the Trauma room, patient rooms in the Emergency Department/Trauma Center and the Lab. If you have any questions, please ask a staff member where cell phones may be used. The use of walkie-talkies is restricted to emergency personnel. These devices interfere with the operation of medical devices and should be completely turned off when in restricted areas. Even in standby mode, cell phones can transmit a signal.

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Parents, grandparents and legal guardians may visit children at any time. Siblings and other children may visit from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. if accompanied by an adult.

In special care areas (Hematology/Oncology/Transplant Unit, Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, Neonatal Intensive Care Unit), you may be asked to limit the number of visitors. Please check with your child's nurse before inviting visitors.

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For your child's safety, and the safety of other children, only metallic (mylar) balloons are allowed in the hospital. Latex (rubber) balloons are prohibited.