Children's Healthcare of Atlanta

Our son had two surgeries here (2022 and 2024) and both were very pleasant experiences. The waiting time is the worst part. The staff we encountered were very nice and knowledgeable. We hope he doesn’t need any more surgeries, but we would feel comfortable bringing him here again. He loved the basketball hoop!

Visited with my 6 yo on Sunday late morning. Everyone was very nice and welcoming. No waiting, got into the room right away. Nurse Alexis and Dr. Williams were caring for my child and US technician was involved in our care. Everything was flowing fast. My child gets anxious in the hospital but he even made a comment that he likes it here and we should come here more often:)). I worked in the ED for 18 years as a provider and understand that different days and even times of the day can effect the flow. My experience today was just great and I appreciate all the care that we received!

We were transported around 10pm by ambulance to Scottish Rite Hospital. After the initial meeting, we went over an hour without any update or service. We were placed in a room that looked like a nasty broom closet, with two dead bugs on the floor and by an emergency door that had a great view of about 8 rats playing in the parking lot (I showed a young black male doing paperwork on a portable computer, who said "I am glad that I am not out there"). Another hour passed with no updates on the x-rays, nose swabs, or any treatments for my daughter (had the rhino virus which causes asthma like symptoms). A young blonde pregnant nurse came in, woke my daughter to give her Motrin, and a different nurse hooked her up for an hour-long albuterol treatment, then left. We had to give her albuterol treatments because the nurses came in, hooked up the equipment and left. Over several hours, we had 3 nurses come & tell us that were checking out because her oxygen level was above 92. My daughter had to pee, so we had to remove all the medical leads to take her to the bathroom because no one responded to the call button (5 times we used) or when I went to the front desk to ask for help. When a pregnant blonde nurse finally arrived, she was angry and spilled albuterol on the bed sheets, left without replacing them, so we cleaned it up and remade my daughter's bed. Later, an Asian male nurse came in to replace an oxygen sensor (which came off causing the oxygen reading to be in low 80's). He then told the doctor, who we had not seen for over 2 hours that her oxygen levels were low but not about replacing the sensor. After he replaced the sensor, her level went back up to the mid 90's, but he did not stay to check the levels. So, in this time we had a couple of nurses come and told us that we were being discharged because of my daughters oxygen levels were above 92 and we promptly told them about the incident with the Asian male nurse, which confused them because my daughter’s oxygen levels were above 92 (number doctor said it needed to be above prior to being sent home). I took a video of the monitor showing my daughter’s oxygen levels being over 92. After nurses told us we were checking out, the doctor came in and told us about the Rhino virus, the x-rays looked good but that he would be admitting us. I complained to the doctor about my daughter’s treatment so far and after a few minutes, a nurse named Amanda came in and said she would address our concerns with the staff, but the terrible treatment and miscommunication continued. Another hour passes, and I go to the front desk to ask about being admitted, the agitated nurse told me it would be about another hour until a bed was ready. My wife and I were getting more furious & an hour later, the Asian male nurse came and said he was submitting the report to get us a room. I told him the doctor said that over two hours ago and a nurse just told me that we had another hour till a bed becomes available. So just about 2:30 am, the admitting physician (nice and professional) comes in (our daughter’s oxygen levels are mid 90’s) to discuss what was happening next. We told her about everything so far concerning the nurses, treatment and hours spent with little to no communication. She left and got the original doctor, who tried to explain everything again, but I curtly reminded him that we had waited an additional 3 hours since he originally talked to us about being admitted. We asked to be discharged since our daughter’s oxygen levels were good and we could give albuterol treatments at home. They did not return, so I had to unhook my daughter from the equipment, but they damn sure wanted me to sign payment paperwork. Also, we were itching while in the room, and after taking DECON showers at home, my wife, older daughter and I noticed small bumps on our legs and arms, which looked like bug bites. This is summarized, because there were many other issues. Keep your children out of this hospital.

We went 5 days in the PICU with my 2 month old for RSV. The PICU staff was amazing. They took the time to explain what was going on if I did not understand. And were willing to sit with the baby (if they weren't busy) so I could go down the hall to the bathroom/ get coffee. They need to get couches in there so parents are not sleeping on recliners. But I have no complaints. Now.. when we were moved to a regular hospital for observation, the room was very dingy and worn down . And the heat quit working in our room and they did not move us so my baby and I were cold that night (it was winter). They did however bring us blankets but still a little baby should not have to be in a cold room.

Seriously reconsider bringing your children to this hospital. An absolute shame how they are so inconsistent in your child’s care that they get harmed especially if an adult cannot be with them at all times. Don’t get me wrong I’m very thankful for the very few amazing nurses and respiratory therapist that helped us but the bad who harmed him outweighed the good. My 6 month old was admitted for rsv for 12 days and 9 days of that in the PICU. Not only did they double his feeds when he was only supposed to get 40ml he was getting 80ml through his ng tube but they also continued to give him oral medications after the ng tube was placed while he was on a significant amount of high flow (which increases the risk of aspiration pneumonia) - just to note my son was eventually diagnosed with pneumonia that was not present when he was admitted. Then the worst was when a respiratory therapist took my son who was originally on 18L high flow oxygen and had slowly weaned down to 4L and immediately put him on room air. He declined so quickly and had to work so hard to breathe and the night shift nurse noticed but never did anything nor did she call the RT when I requested and the RT never came back in from about 1am to 7am to check on how he was breathing. In the PICU the staff doesn’t leave their number for you to call directly so you are stuck going through the ICU nurse. Needless to say my son was put back on 10L later that day due to their negligence and his hospital stay was then extended. This CHOA location is not what is once was. Also beware that they often staff the Pediatric ICU with non ICU nurses so floor nurses. That defeats the purpose of being in the ICU and the knowledge base nor care compares. Then one thing I found extremely frustrating is that when your child is weaning off oxygen they don’t really have an actual protocol they follow it’s like the wild Wild West with completely being up to whichever respiratory therapist you have for that shift. There has to be evidence based practice guidelines that they could follow for a more consistent and safer weaning process. The entire stay my child’s health was constantly jeopardized by the incompetent care he received. Thankfully we are out of there and will never be returning. I will never trust them with any of my children’s care again.

We went to CHOA Egleston for my daughter who had a worsening cough and a low grade fever. We were checked in immediately. Within 15-20 minutes we were in a...

Staff is nice enough, but the flow of patient care needs major overhaul. Waiting rooms are small and crowded with a lot of sick kids (hospital, go...

Despite the circumstances, my Wednesday afternoon hospital visit turned out surprisingly well. The hospital was extremely clean. The entire staff was not...