Inpatient Cardiology

The ACCU is on Hale 8B and Hale 9, Boston Children’s Hospital’s inpatient Medical/Surgical Unit, located on the eighth and ninth floors of the main building at Boston Children’s. It consists of 52 beds.

When you or your child is admitted to the hospital or undergoes a procedure, it can be stressful for the whole family. We’re dedicated to making the hospital experience as positive as possible. Please let us know if there’s anything we can do to improve your or your child’s stay. Here are tips to help you prepare.

The ACCU is for infants, children, teens, and, in some cases, adults with heart disease. Children who need elective cardiac catheterization and surgery are often admitted here as well.

All patient rooms are private. There is a shower and bathroom in each room.

We’ve set up treatment rooms that are designated for blood drawing and other procedures. This allows a patient room to remain a “safe place” for relaxation and recuperation.

Please lock up personal belongings when you are not in a patient room. There are small storage compartments — small safes that you’d find at a hotel — located inside the wardrobe closet at each bedside.

Visiting hours are noon to 8 p.m. Parents and guardians, though, can visit 24/7, but only one parent or guardian may sleep overnight. (See next question and answer.) Parents will be given an identification badge when their child is admitted. Visitors should follow Boston Children’s visitor guidelines.

One parent can sleep at their child’s bedside. The chairs in the patient rooms are pull-out beds. You may help yourself to sheets and towels from the linen carts, which are located on the east and north side of the center. You can shower and use the bathroom in your child’s room. The curtain around your child’s bed can be closed for privacy, unless otherwise requested by your nurse. If other accommodations are needed, our resource specialist can help you.

To call out of patient rooms, dial 9-1-number. Local and long-distance calls must be dialed collect or charged to a calling card. You can receive phone calls directly into the patient room. The telephone number is located on the phone. Cell phones cannot be used in patient rooms. Parents must go to the area by the elevators to use cell phones.

We respect your and your child’s confidentiality. For this reason, we provide information only to a primary care physician.

Most children are weighed daily before breakfast and given medications between 8 and 10 a.m. Vital signs — including temperature, heart rate, respiratory rate, and blood pressure — are also taken at this time. Your child may be scheduled for other routine tests throughout the day as well. Naptime or rest period is usually between 1 and 3 p.m. The nurse needs to know how much your child eats and drinks, as well as how much is eliminated in urine or stool. If you give your child something to drink, please save the container, and please save all diapers for your nurse.

Meals can be ordered for patients anytime from 7 a.m. to 6:45 p.m. Orders can be placed by calling F-O-O-D (ext. 5-3663) from the phone in the room or 617-355-FOOD when calling from outside the hospital. Please call 45 minutes prior to mealtime. Meals can be ordered up to 24 hours in advance; menus are available.

There is food in a patient nourishment center if you or your child needs a snack. There is also a refrigerator in your room and on each floor’s kitchen for your use. For the community fridge, please label your food with your name and the date clearly visible to prevent food from being thrown out when the refrigerator is cleaned.

There are TVs in every patient room that can be tuned to both television and radio stations. The television system carries local stations and some satellite stations 24 hours a day. Movies are shown from 9 a.m. to 11 p.m., seven days a week.

Also, “Children's Midday” is offered each Tuesday at 2 p.m. on Channel 22. This live, interactive show, produced in the Patient Entertainment Center, welcomes patient participation from viewers on inpatient units as well as those in the entertainment area. We encourage children to bring video games or movies from home.

Wireless internet access is available in patient rooms. Computers are not provided, but you and your child can bring a laptop. Computers are also available in the Hale Family Center for Families.

Playrooms on Hale 8 and 9 offer infants, toddlers, preschoolers, and school-age children age-appropriate toys and games. There is also an activity room on Hale 8 and another on Hale 9. The rooms have board games, books, video games, and computers. Because the playroom and activity rooms are places where children can relax and temporarily escape the stress of the hospital, all medical examinations or procedures that may upset your child are prohibited in these areas.

Activities are provided in your child’s room if they can’t go to the playroom.

A Child Life specialist works Monday through Friday and usually coordinates one scheduled group activity each day.

Tutoring is available for children who will be absent from school for at least two weeks (if they’re either at home or in the hospital) due to illness. Your child should bring his or her schoolwork to the hospital, if possible. An assigned tutor will contact your child's school and develop a plan to cover any missed lessons. Please talk with your nurse or Child Life specialist for more information.