My kid recently fell down half a flight of stairs. They hit their head on every step coming down and their nose started bleeding when they landed. We went to Children's for evaluation after consulting their primary care nurse line. We waited over 8 hours overnight in the filthy, crowded waiting room to be taken to a hastily cleaned "fast track" room with crushed Cheetos on the floor. I knew it would be awful, but it exceeded my low expectations. I work with adult patients elsewhere and was appalled.

Even if your kid has a serious injury, Children's (and other facilities in the region) are so short staffed and overwhelmed that they won't be seen immediately unless they present with acute, life-threatening symptoms.

It was eye-opening to see how many parents were using the ER like primary or urgent care for reasons like their kid having a fever for 3 weeks. Part of the problem is the dearth of pediatric urgent care facilities in DC proper, as well as the increasing inability to get same or next day appointments at primary care practices.