Our Top Five
Selected by the Children’s Family Advisory Board and Councils
1. Main entrance hours
The main entrance of the hospital is open from 5:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Before or after these hours, use the Emergency Deportment entrance located on Lower Level l on the southeast side of the hospital. Or, use your ID badge (provided by the check-in station) to enter through the garage elevators.
2. Parking
You are welcome to park in Children’s garages – just not in reserved areas or other designated no parking zones.
Please do not park in the employee garage, located to the east of the hospital.
Don’t forget to lock your car and keep valuables out of sight.
3. Where to eat
THE CAFETERIA
Located on Lower Level 3 (LL3) of the Hubbard Center for Children
Open 6:30 a.m. to midnight daily
24-HOUR SNACK AND DRINK VENDING
Located near the cafeteria on Lower Level 3 (LL3) of the Hubbard Center for Children
SCOOTERS COFFEE
Located on Level 2 (L2), overlooking the hospital atrium
Open 5:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday – Friday (except holidays)
MICROWAVES
Microwaves are located in the family lounges near or in each patient unit. (Remember to wear your ID badge, so you can get back into the unit from the lounge.)
COMPLIMENTARY COFFEE, TEA AND COCOA
Complimentary coffee, tea and cocoa are available in the family lounges.
ROOM SERVICE
The menu for patient meals is available on the Oneview video system in your room. Guest meals are also available for purchase and will be delivered through room service during patient meal times. Please allow for extra time during peak hours. Guest meals delivered to the room require a voucher. Vouchers must be purchased in advance in the Cafeteria. Cash and cards are both accepted in the Cafeteria.
Meal times for patients:
Breakfast: 7 a.m. – 10 a.m.
Lunch: 11 a.m. – 3 p.m.
Dinner: 4:45 p.m. – midnight
If food is brought to your child from outside the hospital, please make sure it is approved by your child’s care team.
4. Guest WiFi & Phone
Guest WiFi is available throughout the hospital.
Look for the guest network and accept the prompt that displays on your device. No login or passcode is needed.
Each patient room has a phone available for hospital and local calls.
When dialing a Children’s department from a hospital phone, you should use the full number including area code.
5. Family Support and Visitors
We want every patient to feel welcomed, supported, safe and secure during his/her time in the hospital. Please help us create the most healing environment by following our visitor guidelines.
ID BADGES ARE REQUIRED
All family members and visitors must check in on the first floor (lobby) of the hospital. No exception. ID badges will be issued and are required to enter any inpatient unit.
Parent/guardian badges are programmed to give you access to the unit. Please wear it at all times and do not give it to anyone else.
We rely on caregivers, including custodial parents and guardians to tell us who can visit.
- Pre-Approved Visitors: designated by caregivers, allowed to visit after checking in and receiving ID badge
- Walk-in Visitors: must be approved by caregiver before being checked in and issued an ID badge
- Unapproved Visitors: designated by caregivers, will not be allowed to visit.
Caregivers cannot override court-ordered guardianship or custody arrangements to limit visitation.
Visitors must return their ID badge to a designated badge ‘drop zone’ as they are leaving. We cannot issue new visitor badges until expired badges are removed from our system.
VISITING HOURS ARE 9 a.m. – 8 p.m.
An announcement will be made when visiting hours end for the day as a reminder for guests that it is time to leave.
HELP US TO KEEP VISITORS IN THE ROOM TO A MINIMUM
Rest is important for children when they are in the hospital. We also want to protect them from germs.
WE MAY LIMIT VISITS WHEN RESPIRATORY ILLNESSES AND OTHER CONTAGIOUS CONDITIONS (LIKE COVID-19) ARE PRESENT IN THE COMMUNITY. CHANGES WILL BE POSTED.
Parents and legal guardians can visit 24/7. Grandparents are also welcome at any time with permission from the child’s legal guardian.
Infants and children in our Intensive Care Units may be vulnerable and need a lot of rest. Talk to your care team about visitors in these areas.
All visitors should be healthy and free of contagious illnesses.
No Smoking, Drugs or Alcohol; No Weapons
To ensure a healthy environment for all patients and families, Children’s does not allow tobacco or smoking products (including e-cigarettes, pipes and vaporizers), alcohol, illegal drugs or inappropriate chemical substances. The use of these items is prohibited on all property owned or leased by Children’s, including entryways, sidewalks, parking lots and garages.
No Weapons
Weapons, including concealed weapons allowed under Nebraska law, are not permitted.
No Recording
Do not take photos, videos or other recordings of staff without their permission.
Leave Valuables at Home
Making your child’s stay as comfortable as possible may involve a favorite book, blanket or stuffed animal from home. That’s perfectly fine, but please leave actual “valuables” at home. The hospital does not accept responsibility for lost or stolen items.
Identifying Hospital Personnel & Volunteers
All Children’s staff and volunteers wear photo IDs.
Speak Up – Anytime!
When you have a concern, please speak up. If you don’t understand your child’s condition, test results, care or treatment plan, ask us. We want you and your child to have a positive experience.
- Pay attention to the care your child is receiving. Tell your nurse or doctor if something doesn’t seem right.
- Jot down your questions when you think of them so you remember to ask your child’s care team.
Condition Help
If you have an urgent or significant concern about a change in your child’s condition, talk to your nurse or provider. If that conversation doesn’t provide reassurance, you can initiate “Condition Help.” Condition Help is a resource for patients and families to quickly notify the Rapid Response Team (RRT) if you feel your child’s health may be in danger, or you are worried the assigned health care team is not recognizing your medical concerns. The Rapid Response Team is a special group of health care providers who will respond when you dial 10-6666 from your hospital room telephone or 402-955-6666 from a personal phone.
We’re Listening
If you have questions or concerns about your child’s stay, please let us know. The charge nurse or clinical manager is available to help.
It’s our goal to provide you with the best patient and family-centered care. To improve, we need to hear from you. Once you’re back home, you may receive a phone call or e-mail asking about your hospital stay. Please take a moment to tell us how we’re doing.
All about Safety
- The identification band must stay on your child all of the time.
- Please let the nurses know when you are leaving your child’s room.
- Make sure your child stays on his or her floor unless you have the provider’s or nurse’s approval.
- Keep crib rails up at the highest position and always test crib rails to make sure they are latched securely.
- When your child gets out of bed, be sure the bed is in its lowest position.
- Keep your child’s call light within reach and ask your child to use it when help is needed.
- Have your child wear non-skid slippers.
- If your child has a walking aid, walker, crutches or a brace, make sure they use it.
- Be aware that certain medicines may make your child feel dizzy or unsteady.
- Stick with Mylar balloons. Rubber (latex) balloons are not permitted due to the possibility of latex allergy reactions and a potential choking risk.
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Help Us Keep Your Child Safe From Falls
All children are at risk for a fall. In fact, over 80% of hospital falls involving children happen when a parent or family member is present. A fall could cause injury and delay your child’s recovery. Please join us as we work with you to keep your child safe.Watch for the yellow Bee Safe cards that alert staff your child is at higher risk for falling.
Fall Risk Factors
- Developmental Risks
- Learning to walk
- Crawling and cruising
- Temper tantrums
- Running
- Learning to use the bathroom
- Climbing and jumping
Environmental Risks
- Unfamiliar environment
- Cluttered room Tubes, IV poles, walker
- Chairs blocking path to bathroom
- Side rails left down or partly down
- Wet surfaces (floors, tub/shower)
- Child sleeping in parent bed
- Parent sleeping in child’s bed
Situational Risks (Check all that apply to your child)
- Balance, weakness or range of motion problems
- Seizure disorders
- Orthopedic conditions
- Suddenly feeling better
- Increased fluid intake causing more trips to the bathroom
- Confused, dizzy or lightheaded from illness or medication
- Acting out behaviors
Here’s what you can do to prevent falls in the hospital:
DO
- Tell the nurse and doctor if your child complains of dizziness, feeling weak or seems less coordinated than usual
- Supervise your child’s activities, walk next to your child and give support as he/she regains strength and balance
- Notify nursing staff when you are leaving your child’s room
- Keep beds in lowest height position
- Keep a clear path between the bed and bathroom
- Leave a night light on when it is dark
- Wear non-skid shoes or slippers
Do NOT
- Leave the bed rails down or even partly down, even if you think your child won’t move
- Allow your child to jump on the bed
- Allow your child to run in the room or hallway
- Allow your child to climb on furniture or equipment
- Allow your child to sleep on the parent bed
We need your help
Once children are feeling better, they may become more active and want to jump, run or climb. Please discourage these activities while in the hospital because they can lead to falls, bumps and bruises, and endanger your child’s safety.
Tell Your Nurse if Your Child Has a Recent History of Falling
Children at risk for falling may be supervised more closely by being in a room close to the nurse’s station, padding side rails, and/or assigning a child care partner to attend to the child as needed.
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What is pain?
Children of all ages feel pain, including infants. Pain is an unpleasant feeling that may be present due to:- Physical Injury
- Illness
- Stress
Pain is a personal experience and is different for each child.
How can health care workers measure pain?
Pain can be identified through several ways:
- Patient expressing pain
- Body language, facial expressions, position changes, behavior changes
- Changes in vital signs and physical assessment
There are several different pain tools that can be used to assess each child’s level of pain. Ask your nurse for more information on which tool is being used for your child.
What will help your child’s pain?
There are a variety of ways to treat pain. These include medications, distraction, cold/warm packs, comfort and positioning. Methods vary with the cause of pain and the child’s age. Individualized plans are made to manage pain in children.
The goal at Children’s is to figure out what works best for your child to control his/ her pain. As a parent or guardian, it is important to understand that your child may not be completely pain-free during his/her stay.
As a parent, what can I do?
- Remain proactive in your child’s care by asking questions and expressing concerns.
- Share your knowledge of your child’s behavior and how he/she responds to pain. Share with our medical team what works best for your child to relieve pain.
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Medication Safety
Safety is always our top priority at Children’s. This includes working with you and your family to keep prescription medications out of the hands of children and teens that do not need them.Did You Know?
Prescription drug abuse and misuse can lead to addiction, overdose and death.
- The Office of National Drug Control Policy reports more Americans die every day from drug overdoses than from motor vehicle crashes.
- Forty percent of high school seniors say it is “fairly easy” or “very easy” to get narcotics such as Vicodin, OxyContin or Percocet.
What Can You Do?
- Keep medicines away from children and teens.
- Ensure medications are safely stored in your home.
- Check the expiration date on medicine bottles and packages on a regular basis. Don’t flush unwanted or expired medications down the toilet or drain.
- Take back expired, leftover and unused medications to a participating pharmacy.
- Find a participating pharmacy near you at LeftoverMeds.com or by calling 800-222-1222.
Source: Nebraska MEDS Coalition
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Hand Hygiene
Everyone – you, your friends, doctors, nurses and other health care workers – should wash their hands or use hand sanitizer when coming into and leaving a room.While your child is at Children’s, we want you to know our team has washed their hands before and after leaving your child’s room. We show this by using an electronic system that can detect when members of the care team wash or sanitize their hands.
Look for a special badge worn by health care workers. An image of a hand lights up to tell you if the person has properly cleaned his/her hands.
Please speak up if a provider or health care worker enters your room without a badge. You can ask for hand cleaning to occur on the spot. Also, watch for a yellow or red hand, and tell the provider or worker to wash before caring for your child.
Keeping hands clean can keep us healthy and stop germs from spreading to others.
It’s good to wash:
- When entering or leaving a hospital room
- Before, during and after cooking food
- Before eating food
- Before and after helping someone who is sick
- Before and after treating a cut or wound
- After using the bathroom
- After changing diapers or cleaning up a child who has used the bathroom
- After blowing your nose, coughing or sneezing
- After touching garbage
- After touching pets and animals
Our commitment to hand washing is part of our responsibility to prevent the spread of infection and keep your child safe!