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Children's health in Washington, DC

American medicine looks after children very well, but it is nothing like French medicine: no social security, an insurer that decides whom you can see, a paediatrician who is your children's family doctor, and bills you have to learn to read. Here is how it works, with verified addresses and the official list of French-speaking practitioners.

Verified on 30 October 2026

How the healthcare system works

A private system where everything goes through insurance: it sets the network of doctors, your share of the costs and the authorisations. Employer insurance is the norm; failing that, you buy a plan on your state's marketplace.

Good to know

  • There is no universal health insurance: coverage comes from the employer or an individual plan. In DC, every resident must maintain health coverage month by month, or face a penalty on their tax return. Source
  • Read your plan before the first appointment: the monthly premium is not the end of it, every visit carries a copay or counts towards an annual deductible, and an out-of-network doctor costs far more. Children's well-child visits and vaccines are generally covered with nothing to pay.
  • Without an employer, the federal healthcare.gov platform sends you to your state's marketplace (DC Health Link, Maryland Health Connection, Virginia's Insurance Marketplace); annual open enrolment starts on 1 November, and a move or a loss of coverage opens a special enrolment period. Source
  • The French state does not cover your healthcare costs in the United States: you must take out local insurance before arriving, as travel insurance does not cover a relocation. The Caisse des Français de l'étranger (CFE) is a voluntary scheme that complements it, with a means-tested category applied for at the consulate. Source
  • For a child, the community paediatrician is the family doctor: they follow, vaccinate, treat infections and refer to specialists. In between, neighbourhood urgent care clinics take fevers and minor injuries without an appointment, far cheaper than the ER. Source

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Choosing a paediatrician and baby check-ups

First health step, before anyone is ill: choose a paediatric practice in your insurer's network and open a file for each child. It is the practice that will fill in the school and daycare forms.

Good to know

  • Look for an in-network practice accepting new patients (your insurer's directory or app says so), call for a new patient appointment and ask whether there is a nurse line in the evening and at weekends: it will spare you many ER trips.
  • Bring the insurance card, a parent's ID and the French health record with the vaccines: the paediatrician copies the doses already given into the state immunisation registry and tops up what the school requires.
  • There is no national health booklet: growth charts, vaccines and reports live in the practice's patient portal (often MyChart), and the school receives every year a health certificate and an immunisation certificate on DC Health forms, filled in by the paediatrician. Source
  • The well-child visits recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics are frequent in the first years: first week, then 1, 2, 4, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, 24 and 30 months, then yearly; they cover growth, development and vaccines. Source
  • Dentistry and eye care usually come under separate insurance (dental, vision): check what the employer offers, paediatricians recommend a first dental visit as soon as the first tooth appears.

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Emergencies and children's hospitals

One number to remember, 911, and one reflex: for anything not life-threatening, the paediatrician's line or an urgent care first. Washington is lucky to have a major children's hospital, Children's National, and children's emergency departments in Maryland and Virginia.

Good to know

  • 911 is for life-threatening emergencies (serious accident, breathing difficulty, seizure that does not stop); it dispatches police, fire or ambulance. 311 answers 24/7 for anything non-urgent. Source
  • Swallowed medicines, household products or plants: Poison Control answers free of charge on 1-800-222-1222, and its webPOISONCONTROL online tool gives a first assessment. Source
  • Children's National, in north-west DC, offers 24/7 paediatric emergency care and sits on the honour roll of the country's best children's hospitals (U.S. News 2026-2027); its doctors also staff the children's emergency department of the new Cedar Hill hospital in south-east DC. Source
  • An ambulance and an ER visit are billed at high amounts, even when insured: always carry the child's insurance card, as the consulate reminds at the top of its medical list, and bring their medicines and vaccination record. Source

Addresses

  • Children's National Hospital, urgences pédiatriques

    Emergency

    111 Michigan Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20010

    The region's reference children's hospital, 24/7 children's emergency department, on the national honour roll; on-site garage parking, with works under way at the main garage.

    Website Source

  • Cedar Hill Regional Medical Center GW Health, urgences pédiatriques Children's National

    Emergency

    1200 Pecan Street SE, Washington, DC 20032

    Children's emergency department open 24/7 in the new hospital in south-east DC, staffed by Children's National teams; serious cases are transferred to the main hospital.

    Website Source

  • Inova L.J. Murphy Children's Hospital

    Emergency

    3300 Gallows Road, Falls Church, VA 22042

    The children's hospital of the Inova Fairfax campus in Northern Virginia, open 24/7; emergency waiting times are posted online, handy for families in McLean, Vienna or Arlington.

    Website Source

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French-speaking doctors, dentists and therapists

The French consulate general in Washington publishes a medical list, updated in September 2026, covering DC, Maryland and Northern Virginia. It is provided for information only, without engaging the administration's responsibility, and the choice of practitioner is free. We list the practitioners useful to families; always check they are in your insurer's network.

Good to know

  • The official list has two paediatric practices, a general practitioner, two psychiatrists, five dentists and orthodontists and a French-speaking physiotherapist, between Washington, Bethesda, Kensington, Reston and the Baltimore suburbs; it is the only public source checked by the administration. Source
  • All are in private practice: the visit is billed to your insurer if the practitioner is in its network, to you otherwise. Ask the front desk whether they are in network with your plan before the first appointment. Source
  • The French-language media directories (French Morning, French District) have a health section, but it still lists few practitioners in the Washington area; the Mamans autour de DC mutual-aid group, listed by the consulate, is the best place to ask for a recommendation. Source

Addresses

  • Dr Ziad et Nadine Idriss

    Paediatrician

    Bethesda, Westbard Circle (Maryland)

    Paediatric practice, on the edge of Bethesda and north-west DC.

    Languages spoken : FR, EN

    Source

  • Dr Paul Lunis

    Paediatrician

    Catonsville, banlieue de Baltimore (Maryland)

    Paediatrician, children and young adults up to 21; an hour from Washington, useful for families settled towards Baltimore.

    Languages spoken : FR, EN

    Source

  • Dr Jean-Pierre Faure

    General practitioner

    Bethesda, Wisconsin Avenue (Maryland)

    General practitioner, the consulate's medical adviser, in central Bethesda.

    Languages spoken : FR, EN

    Source

  • Dr Laure Experton

    Psychologist

    Foggy Bottom, L Street NW (Washington, DC)

    Psychiatrist, practice in the George Washington University neighbourhood.

    Languages spoken : FR, EN

    Source

  • Dr Lucie S. Greenblum

    Psychologist

    Bethesda (Maryland)

    Adult psychiatrist and psychoanalyst for adults, children and adolescents.

    Languages spoken : FR, EN

    Source

  • Dr Danny T.A. Bui

    Dentist

    Bethesda, Wisconsin Avenue (Maryland)

    Dentist, in central Bethesda.

    Languages spoken : FR, EN, VI

    Source

  • Dr Ivelisse Cuevas

    Dentist

    Bethesda, Fernwood Road (Maryland)

    Dentist, Camalier Building, near Rockledge Drive.

    Languages spoken : FR, EN

    Source

  • Dr Mark St George

    Dentist

    Kensington (Maryland)

    Dentist, Cedar Lane, next to Bethesda.

    Languages spoken : FR, EN, ES, IT

    Source

  • Dr Anthony Moawad

    Dentist

    Reston (Virginie)

    Dentist, Dental Group Messina, Canal, Moawad & Rye, Reston Town Center.

    Languages spoken : FR, EN, AR

    Website Source

  • Dr Stéphane Tisseront

    Dentist

    Reston (Virginie)

    Orthodontist, Plaza America Drive.

    Languages spoken : FR, EN

    Source

  • Myriam Delamarre

    Capitol Hill (Maryland Avenue NE) et Georgia Avenue NW (Washington, DC)

    Chiropractic and physiotherapy, two practices in the District.

    Languages spoken : FR, EN

    Source

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Pregnancy and maternity units

In the United States, pregnancy is followed by an obstetrician (OB-GYN) or a midwife chosen within your insurer's network, and you give birth in the hospital where that practitioner works. There is no federal paid maternity leave, but DC has its own scheme.

Good to know

  • Pick the hospital first, then an obstetrician or midwife who delivers there and is in your network; pre-registration at the maternity unit is done online a few months before the due date, and the newborn must be added to your insurance plan as soon as they are born.
  • DC Paid Family Leave covers private-sector employees working in the District: 12 weeks of parental leave to bond with a new child, 2 weeks of prenatal leave, plus medical and family leave, with a capped weekly benefit; durations changed on 1 October 2026. Source
  • At federal level, the FMLA only guarantees 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave, subject to length of service and company size; Maryland and Virginia do not yet have an equivalent state paid leave, it all depends on the employer. Source
  • A child born in the United States receives a state birth certificate; have it transcribed at the consulate's civil status office so they get a French birth record, a passport and a place on the register. Source

Addresses

  • MedStar Georgetown University Hospital, maternité

    Maternity

    3800 Reservoir Road NW, Washington, DC 20007

    The university hospital next to the French embassy: obstetrics and neonatology, neonatal intensive care unit, online virtual tour of the labour and delivery unit.

    Website Source

  • MedStar Washington Hospital Center, Family Birth Place

    Maternity

    110 Irving Street NW, Washington, DC 20010

    Central DC's big maternity unit, on the same campus as Children's National, which matters for a high-risk pregnancy or a premature baby.

    Website Source

  • Holy Cross Hospital, Silver Spring

    Maternity

    1500 Forest Glen Road, Silver Spring, MD 20910

    Maryland's number one for births according to the hospital, with a Level III neonatal unit, antenatal classes and support groups; a second site in Germantown.

    Website Source

  • Inova Women's Hospital, Falls Church

    Maternity

    3300 Gallows Road, Falls Church, VA 22042

    The women's hospital of the Inova Fairfax campus in Northern Virginia, verified at Level IV maternal care by the Joint Commission, with the Inova children's hospital on the same site.

    Website Source

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Pharmacies and medicines

Pharmacies sit inside drugstores (CVS, Walgreens) and supermarkets, often open late and sometimes 24/7; the pharmacist dispenses prescriptions sent by the doctor and gives vaccines. On the other hand, Doliprane does not exist, look for Tylenol.

Good to know

  • Prescriptions are sent electronically by the doctor to the pharmacy of your choice; name it at the practice when you register and prefer a pharmacy in your insurer's network, which applies its copay to generics.
  • Off-the-shelf equivalents: Tylenol (acetaminophen, i.e. paracetamol) for Doliprane, Motrin or Advil (ibuprofen) for French Advil, saline drops for sérum physiologique, Pedialyte for rehydration solutions; the children's and infants' versions are dosed by weight, not age. Spasfon and many French syrups have no equivalent.
  • A French prescription is in practice not dispensed by an American pharmacy: you need a prescription from a doctor practising in the United States. Bring the current treatment with its prescription and have it renewed by the paediatrician or family doctor in the first weeks.
  • The CVS and Walgreens store locators show 24/7 pharmacies near you; at night, emergency departments and urgent care clinics also have a pharmacy or supply the first dose.
  • In case of a dosing error or accidental ingestion, Poison Control answers free of charge on 1-800-222-1222, 24/7. Source

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Vaccines: how the schedule differs from France

The American schedule broadly resembles the French one, with additions that surprise: chickenpox, hepatitis A, rotavirus and a yearly flu shot from 6 months. And here, the school checks: without an up-to-date immunisation certificate, no first day.

Good to know

  • The CDC schedule for ages 0 to 18 includes hepatitis B from birth, rotavirus, DTaP, Hib, pneumococcal, polio, yearly flu from 6 months, MMR and chickenpox from 12 months, hepatitis A between 12 and 23 months, then Tdap, HPV and meningococcal ACWY at the start of middle school, with MenB and COVID offered to teenagers. Source
  • Compared with France: chickenpox (two doses) and hepatitis A are routine, flu is yearly for all children, meningococcal ACWY is given at 11 to 12 with a booster at 16, and BCG is not used. Your French doses count: the paediatrician records them and tops up. Source
  • In DC, entry into PK3, kindergarten, 7th grade and 11th grade requires a set number of doses: DTaP, polio, chickenpox, MMR, hepatitis A and B for all, pneumococcal and Hib for the little ones, Tdap, HPV and meningococcal ACWY for the older ones, certified on the DC Health immunisation certificate. Source
  • Maryland publishes its own back-to-school requirements by grade every year, close to DC's (chickenpox, hepatitis B, Tdap and meningococcal in middle school); Virginia schools have theirs too. Rochambeau, in Maryland, follows Maryland's rules. Source
  • Where to vaccinate: at the paediatrician's, covered by insurance; in pharmacies for older children's flu shots; and at DC Health clinics, whose vaccines.dc.gov site lists addresses and school forms. Source

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These landmarks do not replace the advice of a health professional. In an emergency, call the local emergency number shown above.

A place has closed, something has changed? Tell us: the mums of Washington, DC will thank you.

Sources for this page

The public pages these landmarks come from. The official website always prevails.

  1. 1 Consulat général de France à Washington, liste de notoriété médicale (PDF)
  2. 2 Consulat de Washington, prise en charge des frais de santé
  3. 3 Children's National Hospital, urgences
  4. 4 Code de DC, obligation de couverture santé
  5. 5 DC Paid Family Leave
  6. 6 CDC, calendrier vaccinal des enfants et adolescents
  7. 7 DC Health, vaccins exigés à l'école
  8. 8 healthcare.gov

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