Where to Check In on the Day of Your Child’s Surgery

Arriving at Mass General Hospital

Parking
If you park in the Fruit Street, Parkman Street or Yawkey Center parking garages, you can park at a discounted rate. Validate tickets at the cashier in the central payment office on the ground floor of each garage. Valet parking is available from 6 a.m. – 8 p.m. in front of the Wang building.

Check-in
Check in at the Mass General for Children Surgery Admission and Family Waiting Area on the 3rd floor of the Ellison building.

If you enter from the main entrance:

1. Go to the main corridor.
2. Take a left toward the "E" elevators before Coffee Central.
3. Walk to the Ellison elevators across from the MGH Gift Shop. Go up to the 3rd floor.
4. Follow the blue line on the floor to a set of duck tracks. The reception area is on the right.

If you enter from the Wang lobby:

1. Go straight to the Wang elevators. Select “Main Lobby.”
2. Walk to the Ellison elevators across from the MGH Gift Shop. Go to the 3rd floor.
3. Follow the blue line on the floor to a set of duck tracks. The reception area is on the right. 

Information desk
Ambassadors welcome and direct patients when they arrive. They also help patients, families and visitors with special requests, such as getting out of a car or into a wheelchair. If you need help, ambassadors are at the main entrance and the entrance to the Wang building.

A note about check in and the reception area…

• Please do not bring food or drinks in the reception area.
• While we understand it is not always possible, we recommend making childcare arrangements before coming to the hospital. It can be a challenge for children to wait for long periods of time.

After check-in

Your child changes clothing into hospital pajamas
Have your child change into hospital pajamas and socks. Put their clothes in a bag labeled with your child’s name.

Check vital signs
A nurse will take your child’s vital signs (height, weight, blood pressure, temperature, pulse).

Go to pre-op area
A nurse or other member of your child’s care team will take you and your child to the pre-operation (pre-op) area to meet the operating room (OR) and anesthesia teams.

Meet with a Child Life Specialist
Child Life Services can help prepare your child for what to expect in the operating room (OR). If you would like to speak with a Child Life Specialist about how and when to prepare your child before the day of surgery, please call MGfC Child Life Services at 617-724-1211. If your child has a physical, sensory or developmental disability, please speak with Child Life Services about any special accommodations that may create a more positive and accessible environment for your child.

Meet with the OR team and anesthesiologist
Meet the team who will care for your child in the OR. The anesthesiologist (doctor who helps people fall asleep and stay asleep safely and comfortably during surgery) will also talk with you about the best and safest way for your child to go to sleep.

Going to the operating room (OR):

Going into the operating room
In some cases, a parent or guardian may go with your child into the OR until they fall asleep. The anesthesiologist will talk with you about this step.

Parent or guardian puts on hospital clothing
If you are going with your child to the OR, the care team will give you a paper gown or jumpsuit to wear over your clothes. They will also give you a hat, mask and shoe covers.

During surgery
When your child is asleep, a member of the OR team will bring you out of the operating room and your care team will provide instructions for where to wait. Please give your cell phone number to a member of the care team in case they need to reach you with updates on your child’s surgery.

After surgery

Talk with the surgeon
Once the surgery is finished, the surgeon will speak with you.

Meet your child after surgery
Most families go to the Post-Anesthesia Care Unit (PACU) to see their child while they recover. Where your child goes after surgery depends on their needs and age. Some children go home. Others stay at the hospital in the inpatient floor or Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU).

Rev. 8.2023