Specialized care for international patients

Children from more than 100 countries around the world travel to Boston Children’s Hospital for world-class care. For over 150 years, we’ve led the way in treating the rarest and most complex pediatric conditions. We are the primary pediatric teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School and proud to be recognized for our leadership and excellence in pediatric care year after year.

Our Global Medical Services team can help your family by:

  • Coordinating care between your child’s doctors at home and at Boston Children’s
  • Assistance making financial arrangements for your child’s care with our Patient Financial Services and your insurance company and embassy
  • Guidance on visas and traveling with your child
  • Help finding housing and transportation while in Boston

Supporting families with complex conditions

Children with rare and complex medical conditions often need to see multiple specialists. At Boston Children’s, our specialists regularly work together across disciplines to provide the care our patients need, no matter how complex.

Families from around the world bring their children to Boston Children’s centers of excellence for the best possible care in:

International services we offer

The doctors and nurses on our Global Medical Services team are dedicated to ensuring that your child receives the best possible care for their condition. Before and during your child’s stay at Boston Children’s, members of our team will:

  • Develop a plan of care for your child
  • Provide medical updates while your child is receiving care
  • Help plan for your child’s follow-up care after they leave the hospital

Interpreters for all languages — including Spanish, Arabic, Mandarin, and Portuguese — are available.

Seamless travel and accommodation support

Our team helps guide families through the logistics of obtaining visas and traveling to Boston. If travel could pose a risk to your child’s health, a member of our team may arrange a call with you and your child’s doctor to discuss whether your child can travel safely and what special arrangements may be necessary.

Before your arrival, our team can also help you arrange for a place to stay through one of the housing options available near the hospital. We will work with you to find the option that best meets your needs. If your child is hospitalized, one parent or caregiver can stay with them in their room overnight.

Why choose Boston Children’s Hospital for destination medicine?

Our clinical teams at Boston Children’s are experts in their fields with vast experience treating the most complex cases. And thanks to the ongoing research conducted at Boston Children’s, our patients have access to the latest proven innovations in pediatric care. These are just two of the reasons Boston Children’s is ranked as one of the best children’s hospitals in the country year after year.

At the same time, we also understand that children would rather be playing with friends than spending time in a hospital. With this in mind, we have designed our child-friendly medical facilities to make your child’s hospital stay as comfortable as possible.

Our halls are filled with colorful art, and each inpatient floor has activity rooms with games, arts and crafts, music, and educational activities for patients and families. Additional programs, such as the Laughter League, a team of entertainers dressed as hospital clowns, and Pawprints, specially trained dogs available to visit children (if they wish), can make your child’s experience at the hospital brighter.