Children's Healthcare of Atlanta

Transferring a Patient

Children’s Transfer Center

Transfer with one call

For your convenience, the Children’s Transfer Center will arrange for the acceptance and admission of your patient with just one phone call. To transfer a patient 24 hours a day, seven days a week:

  • Phone: 404-785-7778 or 888-785-7778
  • Fax: 404-785-7779

The Transfer Center transfers patients to all three of the Children's hospital campuses: Egleston, Hughes Spalding and Scottish Rite. Whether your patient is being transferred from an emergency department, hospital or other facility, a specialized registered nurse will help you with:

  • Finding a physician
  • Coordinating ground or air transportation for your patient
  • Arranging for a bed with the appropriate level of care to be ready upon arrival
  • Initiating registration paperwork, including financial information and pre-certification
  • Inpatient transfer from other hospitals 
  • Admission requests for direct admissions from the physicians on staff at Children's 
  • Consulting with a pediatric specialist if you are not sure your patient needs to be transferred

Please note: The Children's Transfer Center only coordinates patient transfers for inpatient admission or transfers to the Emergency Department.

Refer a patient for outpatient diagnostics, contact the specific service or department

Inpatient transfer (from another hospital)

To meet the needs of all Georgia children who require pediatric hospital services, Children's maintains a policy that hospitals:

  • Transfer only those patients who require services that the transferring hospital cannot provide.
  • Agree to promptly accept the return of patients once Children's has rendered the specialized services needed.

Transferring hospitals will need to complete an inpatient transfer and agreement form before the patient is transferred, or for patients with emergent needs, as soon as possible after the transfer is initiated. The form must be completed by an authorized representative of the referring hospital. The referring hospital will be responsible for identifying a representative for signing, even during evening and weekend hours.

Transfer of patients for scheduled or non-emergent services will be accepted only after the transferring hospital has returned the signed form to the Children's Transfer Center and payor authorization has been verified.

Whether a transfer is considered emergent or non-emergent is a physician decision, best accomplished with the referring physician and the accepting physician at Children's on the phone together, along with the Transfer Center’s registered nurse to document the decision.

To transfer a patient:

  • Call 404-785-7778.
  • Fill out the Patient Transfer and Return Agreement and email to transfercenter@choa.org or fax to 404-785-7779.

Download the Patient Transfer and Return Agreement

Planned admissions

To streamline the planned admission process for physician practices on the Children's medical staff, the Transfer Center receives all patient transfer information, including the authorization details.

To transfer patients, admitting physicians can communicate to the Transfer Center in the following ways:

  • Phone: 404-785-7778
  • Email: Download and complete the admission request form and email it to transfercenter@choa.org or fax to 404-785-7779.

Download the admission request form