The Children's Inn: A Place Where Seriously Ill Kids Can Be Kids Again

The Children's Inn at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) is a private, non-profit residence for children and families receiving medical treatment from the NIH's Clinical Center. The Inn provides a free “place like home” that reduces the burdens of illness through a supportive environment. Patients and their families from all over the world come to The Children's Inn in Bethesda, Maryland to receive healing for the body, heart, and soul.

Located within walking distance of the NIH Clinical Center, The Children's Inn opened its doors in June 1990 to provide a place where pediatric patients and their families could stay together and not have to face the isolation, expense, and difficulties of living in a hotel. The Inn has been in continuous operation since then, welcoming more than 12,000 seriously ill children and families to date.

Patients and their families travel to the NIH to receive treatment for illnesses such as cancer; HIV infection; and mental, heart, lung, bone, blood, and growth disorders. Meanwhile, The Inn offers warmth and camaraderie that cannot be found in a hotel room. Here, children and families can put aside their challenges, and kids can be kids again for a while. At the end of the treatment day, kids leave behind the doctors, nurses, and needles to return to the comforting presence of their families and The Inn's caring staff members.

The Inn's programs and activities, all of which are free, are designed to help families as they deal with the stress of serious illness. Most take place on-site but there are some off-campus field trips every month as well. The programs and activities are led by staff, volunteers, and professional instructors.

At The Children's Inn, it is understood that families make a difference in the lives of sick children; effective treatment entails caring for the child and family as one.