Nationwide Children’s Hospital

Due to a recent diagnosis, my son and I have been spending a lot more time at Nationwide Children’s Hospital. I only really have two complaints:
I am not a fan of having to pay $ 2 to park each time I go. If there is a free parking option, I have not found it yet. At the same time though, I will say it is $ 2 for up to 4 hours and they only charge a maximum of $ 5 per day. It really isn’t too bad but I can see where this would add up quickly if you have a child staying here for larger issues.
It is confusing getting around. There is the main hospital as well as several other buildings around it and until you have gone once or twice, you have a good shot of ending up at the wrong place or being late. On top of that, they are doing a fair amount of construction right now so even if you do make it to the right building the first time, you will likely have to be redirected to a different set of elevators, etc. Thankfully this is temporary.
Now for the good stuff:
They have wagons EVERYWHERE. They are free to use and I can tell they are massively helpful to families with smaller children to help haul them around from place to place as well as all of the the things you inevitably need like diaper bags and so on. I haven’t had to use them myself but I know just how helpful they are for families and it makes me grateful. They can be found all around the parking garage too which is nice since that means kiddos can have door to door service.
The staff is friendly. Like really friendly. And quick to help guide you where you need to go. That includes the staff at the various desks in the hospital like you would expect but also the people outside picking up garbage and so on. One of the people helping to pick up trash was the one that helped me get where I needed to go on my first visit and it was a huge relief since I was already stressed about being late.
The administrative staff and doctors are all so nice.
Scheduling is a breeze. My son will be attending occupational therapy for a while and they were super quick to get him evaluated and to get his first round of appointments scheduled. He has another therapist he will be seeing and she has super flexible scheduling so they only book up to three appointments in advance but you get to book the next third appointment after each visit so you know what your calendar will be looking like for the next month and they are super understanding if you need to cancel and reschedule.
The absolute best part of Nationwide Children’s Hospital is they want your children to get the treatment they need and deserve. The offer surprisingly generous financial assistance, payment plans, and zero guilt when you call to ask. The process for applying for financial assistance is super easy — you just need your most recent three months of pay stubs — and the assistance is good for three months. You just do the same thing again quarterly and it saves you a ton of money. If you have a balance left over, they are happy to make payment arrangements with no late fees or interest. This is a HUGE relief when you first here how much this and that will cost.
I would absolutely recommend Children’s to everyone.

What’s not to love? The staff caters to children! They don’t want parents (or children) walking out with questions or concerns. The staff makes a valid effort to make you as comfortable as possible. I can’t say enough good things about Children’s.

Children are not treated like children here. Pediatric cancer patients arrive for 9 am routine chemotherapy and forced to wait in the germ-​infested waiting room for 2 hours. When you ask why the first appointment of the day is always running late at the front desk, they shrug and say, «Everybody’s in the same boat.» Toddlers with terrible illnesses, already thin and irritable, are being scheduled for 4 pm scans, which means they can’t eat for almost 24 hours. The scheduling is inhumane, and there are way too many times when they treat a kid with cancer like a number. Child Life services are a mess– it’s some lady with an art cart who shows up at random times and drops off coloring books. It is incredibly sad the wasted potential of this beautiful facility. Talented doctors, but they couldn’t care less that you’re 2-​year-​old with cancer has been here for eight hours to do a one-​hour procedure, has missed his nap, and has not been able to eat for 24 hours.

Only go here as a last resort. Problems with everything. Examples: You’re dealing with technicians instead of doctors. They make you wait and wait. It’s all about them, not you.

I have had two children have two major surgeries here and both have been wonderful. From the staff the cleanest hospital I’ve ever been in. Living in German village and being so close to this hospital for my children has been amazing. Couldn’t ask for a better hospital so close to home.

My son had to have out patient surgery at Nationwide. The check in was quick and easy, wait times were minimal and all the staff was amazing. They went over the top to make sure he was treated like he was the most important patient there. The only down fall for me was the only soda offered throughout the entire facility was all diet. Nothing that took away from great care though ;)

We go here regularly for my girlfriend’s appointments and visits. I can say this is an absolutely terrific hospital after going with her the past 5 years!
Parking: since they added the new parking, there is ample space no matter which garage you choose. Even though it’s not free, it’s super inexpensive.
Security: security personnel are abundant and visible both inside and outside the facility. We feel totally safe whenever visiting for a day or overnight!
Hospital staff: extremely friendly and helpful! I could write pages on how great they are, but I do have to limit this review.
Cafeteria: unlike many hospitals, I enjoy eating here! When we have to spend multiple nights here, I can purchase a «guest tray card» for $ 5 per meal. One receives 5 items off the selections and it is delivered the same time as the patient’s meal. It is definitely good food and brought in no more than 45 minutes.
Rooms: I can only speak to the Pulmonary rooms, but the new ones are spacious and super clean. Family members have a fairly comfortable couch/​bed upon which to sleep.
Family facilities: there are rooms for children to play when visiting siblings. Adults have rooms to which to retire. Laundry facilities are available.
Overall, a superb hospital if you must visit.

We were there once for my daughters broken arm which needed surgery and once for a high bilirubin when my son was born. Everyone we met was very nice and they took great care of my kids. I feel lucky to have this hospital in the area.

This is a beautiful facility. Having been recently, and soon having a family member’s unborn baby there, I have much respect for the staff. And the security! Amazing. You need a key card for every door, even some of the elevators. Amazing.
The staff does an excellent job of calming your nerves, and explaining everything. Although they do the procedures often, they realize that it’s not always on your family member, and do a great job of making it feel personal.
We as Ohioans are blessed to have such a facility if needed.

I’be been coming here since I was about a year old, and now I“m 30, and still coming there. So that’s 29 years of experience, and, with very few exceptions, I can confidently say that the staff here is absolutely tops in every way. I was born with a genetic condition that adult hospitals don’t treat, so I’ve spent, and continue to spend, a lot of time here, with various departments and doctors. The ER staff is topnotch, and if you’re REALLY sick, no wait. They’re great at triage and they also have four state of the art triage rooms for the big issues.
Parking needs work. Hopefully when the new parking garage opens next week, this will be helped a bit, but it’s got a steep learning curve. I can tell instantly who is new to the hospital and who’s a veteran by how they drive around the parking garage.

Great facility, helpful staff, excellent physicians, but the parking situation really needs some work.

Easily one of the best hospitals for minors in the state. The ER is always a little busy (as other reviews state) but that speaks to the popularity of the hospital more than anything else as it’s clearly not a staffing issue (have you seen how many people work here?!). The care and attentiveness to each child is amazing. You’d never know that you were the 80^th patient seen by your doctor today; they always treat you like you are their only concern. We’ve taken our youngest here twice (both as a teenager) for sports injuries and the care was always amazing and the doctor’s took the time to understand what she was ‘into’ and let her know how her injury would affect her sport, what kind of timeframe she was looking at, and how best to get back into the sport w/​o re-​injuring herself. Couldn’t have asked for more, imho. I wish they’d see adults ;)

My son has had two separate surgeries as well as a two night stay. I have never encountered ANYONE who was not kind and compassionate not only to my son but to me as a worried parent as well. The staff go above and beyond and really seem to enjoy what they do. This attitude carries from the Drs and nurses down to the people in the cafeteria and information desks. There is no better place to take a child for specialized medical care!

Best children’s hospital in town. Great facility and people but one star off for the bureaucracy and overly busy ER.

My son was born 10 weeks early with congenital heart block. We found out this was going to happen when I was about 30 weeks along, and so the first time the cardiologists at children saw HJ he was a fetus. From that day on we were treated like family.
They arranged a special tour for us beforehand so we could see the NICU since we knew our son would be staying there for awhile, and at that tour we were able to meet with the heart surgeon who would implant his pacemaker after birth.
Once HJ was born, the staff, from the doctors, to the nurses, the the clergy and the parent advisers were lifesavers to us. I can’t say enough good things about Children’s Hospital. Really, the only negative at all was the price of parking, but if you’re going to be there for more than a few days just ask to see a social worker and they’ll usually be able to give you a week’s worth of tokens at a time.
Children’s Hospital will be a part of our lives for the next 18 years and I couldn’t be more appreciative.