Amenities / Activities

Everyone at Duke Children's Hospital knows that quality care involves more than cutting-edge medical treatment and world-renowned practitioners. It also involves supporting our patients and their families with a wide variety of amenities and activities to ensure that your time here is as stress-free and comfortable as possible.

Please take a moment to explore all that Duke Children's has to offer by clicking on the links below.

• Hospital Amenities
• Hospital Activities

Hospital Amenities

• Food and Nutrition
• Mail and Flowers
• Newspapers
• Laundry Facilities
• Hair Care Services
• Lost and Found
• Postal Services
• Internet Access
• TV and Telephone
• Gift Shops

We understand that a hospital stay can sometimes be difficult and overwhelming. Duke Children's offers many amenities for patients and families to help make your stay more comfortable and allow you to focus on the health of your child.

Food and Nutrition

Duke Children's Hospital provides patients with quality foods to accommodate individual preferences. Unless your child is on a special diet, he or she selects meals each day for the following day. Should your child have special dietary needs, a dietitian will visit to discuss his/her meal plan. Because nutrition is an important part of your child's care, please let your nurse know if you or other visitors bring your child any food. This will help prevent any interference in your physician's plan for your child's care.

Bringing Food From Home

If you would like to bring home-cooked meals, please find out if your child has any dietary restrictions. As many patients are on very specialized diets, we request you do not offer any food or drinks to any other patients. Guidelines for storage of food are posted on all refrigerators designated for patient use. Special refrigerators are available for kosher foods.

Food Service for Family and Visitors

For your convenience, a number of restaurants and cafes are located within Duke Hospital and Duke Children's Hospital. In addition to these options, there are thirty-one unique eateries elsewhere on campus as well as a wide variety of dining options off-campus in Durham.

Guest Meals

Parents staying overnight may also opt for guest meal trays available for a small charge. Please ask the person serving your meals for more information regarding this service.

Duke Dining Services

Duke Dining Services' goal is to provide a healthy and enjoyable experience, no matter where you dine in the hospital or on Duke's campus. For daily menus, call 919-681-DINE.

Mail and Flowers

Mail and flower deliveries should be addressed to your child with his or her first and last name, Duke Children's Hospital, Durham, NC 27710. Please include the child's room number, if available, and ask correspondents to mark letters clearly as "Patient Mail." After your child leaves the hospital, mail will be forwarded to your home address. Please note that flowers are not allowed on some intensive care units.

Newspapers

The Durham Herald-Sun is available for purchase on the units each day. Area and out-of-town papers are available from racks located in the transit lobbies of Duke University Hospital and Duke Clinic.

Laundry Facilities

A washer and dryer are located on 5300 for use by all pediatric patients and families free of charge. Hours of operation are from 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. daily in consideration of patients in nearby rooms. Laundry soap can be purchased in the Duke Hospital Gift Shop.

Hair Care Services

If your child's physician approves, he or she can have a hair stylist or barber visit their room. This service is also available for family members. To make an appointment, please call Patient and Visitor Relations 919-681-2020.

Lost and Found

If you lose a personal item during your stay, notify your nurse immediately so that every effort can be made to find it. The Hospital's lost and found office can be reached at 919-684-3336. If your item is not found, you can also report the loss to your Patient Representative by calling the Patient Help Line at 919-681-2020.

ATMs/Banking Services

ATM machines are available in the PRT (shuttle) lobbies on the "T" level of Duke Hospital and ground floor of Duke Clinic.

Full service banking is available at Wachovia Bank and Trust, located on the first floor of Duke Clinic. Family members can have a personal check cashed at this bank (not to exceed the amount of $50; limit two checks per week; proper identification and room number required). The bank is open 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Thursday, and from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. on Friday.

The following 24-hour automatic tellers are also available:

Located in Duke Hospital:

• Bank of America
• BB&T
• Duke Employees Credit Union
• Wachovia

Located in Duke Clinic:

• SunTrust
• Duke Employees Credit Union
• Wachovia

Postal Services

U.S. Postal Service money orders can be cashed at the Bryan Center Post Office, located on the Duke University campus, Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and Saturday from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Internet Access

To help you and your child stay connected with friends, relatives, teachers, and your life beyond the hospital, Duke Children's Hospital has high-speed internet access in patient rooms, inpatient public areas, outpatient waiting areas, and main hospital cafeterias.

TV & Telephone

All patient rooms are equipped with a television and VCR, and you are welcome to bring your own videotapes from home. Duke Children's Hospital provides age-appropriate television programs on our closed-circuit television system, which includes educational programming as well as several in-house channels dedicated to Duke Hospital patient information needs. Your doctor or nurse will tell you if there is a particular program you should watch, and you are welcome to watch any patient education programs as your time and interest permit.

Children's health programming can be found on Channel 33. You may also wish to view Channel 9, a special channel featuring the cultural resources of North Carolina, with emphasis on our writers and visual and performing artists. The program listings for the patient education channels can be found in your child's room. If you need help with your television, please ask your nurse. Check DUMC-TV2, the Patient Information channel, for updated channel listings.

Local phone calls can be made from your child's room. For long distance calls, the parents of inpatients can either purchase a phone card or use cell phones in the elevator core and lobby area of the hospital.

Gift Shops

The Duke University Hospital Auxiliary, a volunteer organization, runs gift shops in the lobby of Duke University Hospital, in Duke Clinic, and in the lobby of Duke Children's Hospital and Health Center. The shops sell gifts, flowers, cards, children's books and toys, adult reading material, stationery, toiletries, and snacks.

Duke Hospital Gift Shop
Hours: Monday - Friday: 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.; Saturday: 1:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.

Duke Clinic Gift Shop
Hours: Monday - Friday: 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Duke Children's Hospital and Health Center, The Bouncing Ball
Hours: Monday - Friday: 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

The Medical Center Store
Hours: Monday - Friday: 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.; Saturday: 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

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Hospital Activities

• Activity Rooms
• Waiting Room Activities
• Patient Web Sites
• Health Arts Network

Recognizing that being hospitalized can be frightening for children, the Duke Children's Hospital Child and Adolescent Life Programs are designed to create an environment to help ease children's fears and provide feelings of security, comfort, acceptance and age-appropriate activities to make the hospital experience as pleasant as possible for both your child and your family.

The Child and Adolescent Life staff consists of professionals trained in child development and special education who apply their expertise to help children understand their situation. Some activities are simply to make the children smile and take their minds off the fact that they are hospitalized--these types of activities could be playing a video game in a playroom or enjoying a bedside game and some conversation. But whatever the activity, we understand the importance of play and laughter for the well-being of your child.

Activity Rooms

Visit our activity rooms located on units 5100 and 5300--be sure to check with your nurse to see what hours they are open. Activity rooms are shared by children, teens, young adults and parents, and are open during the day for relaxing or taking a break from the hospital routine. In the activity rooms, you will find everything from books to board games. There is usually a staff member there to help you with any special needs or just to hang out and play with your child.

Waiting Room Activities

If you are bringing your child in for a clinic visit, each waiting room area is equipped with games to play until you are seen by your doctor. There is also a computer with fun video games. If your child does not feel well enough to play, he or she can relax in one of the comfortable chairs and watch TV or sit quietly and read a book. Each waiting room is divided into a Kid Zone and Teen Zone with special furniture for each.

Patient Websites

CarePages are available to everyone free! Use CarePages to connect with family and friends and share news, support and encouragement. Whether you are in the hospital, receiving care at home, or recovering, CarePages provides the forum to share stories and get support.

Health Arts Network at Duke (HAND)

Duke University Medical Center's Health Arts Network at Duke (HAND) program brings the healing power of the arts to people who are suffering and to those who care for them. Some of the program's services are listed below. For more information on any of them, call 919-684-2007.

• Art by North Carolina artists is displayed throughout Duke University Hospital in patient rooms and the hallways.
• Art exhibits in the display cases in Duke University Hospital hallways feature works by local artists. The exhibit schedule is shown on the DUMC Information 2.
• The Touchable Art Gallery in the Eye Center welcomes all visitors to explore works of art with their hands and eyes. Call 919-684-6611 for hours.
• Musicians, singers, and poets perform from time to time in the Hospital's patient units and public spaces. Scheduled events are listed on Channel 2.
• A writer-in-residence is available to discuss journaling as a means of stress management and self-expression, to read and discuss poetry and stories, and to offer feedback for patients interested in creative writing.
• Volunteer readers are available to visit patients in their rooms to read news articles, stories, and poems.
• Patients and visitors are invited to join in with a group that meets each Friday at noon to discuss short stories and poems and to hear guest readers. See Channel 2 for the Osler Literary Roundtable schedule.
• Triangle Radio Reading Service on Channel 41 broadcasts volunteers reading stories, newspaper and magazine articles, and children's books.
• "North Carolina Connections," the hospital's Arts and Humanities Channel (9), shows programs by and about North Carolinians.
• Patients and their families are invited to visit Duke University Hospital's garden outside the cafeteria. Ambling walkways accommodate wheelchairs and benches provide places to rest.
• HAND's Clearinghouse provides information about arts and humanities events scheduled on campus and in the Triangle.
• If you are interested in supporting HAND, please call 919-684-2007 to learn how you can help.

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