We provide the majority of our care in the outpatient setting of our Pediatric Day Hospital.
In 1969, Memorial Sloan-Kettering opened the world's first Pediatric Day Hospital to minimize as much as possible the number of nights our patients spend in the hospital. Today, we provide about 90 percent of treatment for children and young adults with cancer in an outpatient setting, allowing most of our patients to leave the hospital with their families at the end of the day.
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Take a virtual tour of our environment for kids and young adults.
With more than 150 daily visits, the Pediatric Day Hospital is a vibrant and lively place, featuring a variety of activities for your child and your family. In the Day Hospital, your child can receive treatment including chemotherapy, hydration, antibody administration, transfusions, and routine procedures performed under anesthesia; this is also where presurgery admission testing and intake on the day of surgery takes place. In addition, your child can benefit from supportive services such as the child life program, pediatric nutritional support, and patient education programs.
We also offer programs to help you and your child cope with the experience of cancer, find comfort and control, and heal in a way that meets your child's individual needs. These programs include recreational activities, entertainment, and integrative medicine services, such as yoga and massage therapy. In addition, we have specialists who teach music, drama, and creative movement classes.
The Pediatric Day Hospital also includes:
Comfortable and efficient care facilities
- Physician practice suites, for all initial and follow-up medical exams and consultations
- A day bed area for treatment or observation, equipped with multimedia entertainment, wireless Internet access, and seating for accompanying family members
- The Laura Rosenberg Procedure Suite where procedures such as lumbar punctures are performed using fast-acting general anesthesia
- On-site laboratories and a chemotherapy pharmacy, expediting the return of test results and the administration of medications
Inviting recreation areas
- Our Recreation Center, staffed by child life specialists and trained volunteers, features many activity areas and daily programming designed with young children and adolescents in mind
- Our Teen Room — equipped with computers, video games, and a plasma screen TV with surround sound — is a getaway for teens and young adults
A supportive environment
- Teachers certified by the New York City Board of Education help children and teens keep up with studies during treatment
- Our Integrative Medicine Service offers individualized bedside programming, including massage therapy, hypnotherapy, guided imagery sessions, creative movement, and other ways to help children find comfort and serenity
- Daily room service in the day bed area with an extensive food menu, as well as a pantry with beverages and snacks throughout the day
