Flying to Hopkins to Help Dad (Baltimore: hotel, houses, neighborhood)

[hopkinsbound]

Dad is having major surgery at Hopkins, and while I have booked hotel and air, I am not familiar with the Hopkins Hospital or its immediate neighborhood (N. Wolfe Street). He will be recuperating at the hospital, and I will be there as his patient advocate/caretaker. I will have a car and would appreciate any and all advice about dealing with the basics - recs for parking, neighborhood safety, where to eat, etc. If anyone also has any additional recs for interacting with Hopkins (ideas/info that might make things go more smoothly), that would also be appreciated. TIA.

[ajacksb]

I wish your father a fast recovery. The basics - food, clothes, and little stuff you may have forgotten to pack can all be found Downtown - about a 2 minute drive west from Hopkins Medical. There is a 24 hour CVS at Harbor East, a new waterfront development on Aliceanna St. There are also several nice restaurants there as well. Fells Point and Canton also have some great restaurants and entertainment if you want to unwind.

Safety - Hopkins had a long reputation for being unsafe. This is not really accurate anymore. The hospital is in the process of redeveloping an 80 acre site north of the medical campus, and other new projects have made the area a lot safer than what it was. There are few services (restaurants, banks, etc) in this part of town, though, so you'll probably be going downtown for most of your needs. I wouldn't feel concerned about walking/driving around the hospital campus at night - there is security on almost all of the street corners in this area. As you venture north of the hospital (past the huge open areas of land where old rowhouses were demolished for the new biopark), things get dicey, but you really have no reason to go that far north.

I hope you enjoy your visit to Baltimore despite the circumstances which bring you here.

[medfieldbum]

Dear Hopkinsbound---A lady owns a series of rowhouses on Jefferson and McElderry Streets just east of the hospital, which she runs as a sort of "bed & breakfasts" for folks who have family in the hospital and wanted to be nearby for treatment. When you go visit, you'll see her banners and flags flying. Hospital staff might not officially be able to tell you about her places, but might direct you. Hopkins security will walk with you directly to the house after dark as an escort, if you request it, though these "hostels" are just off campus. On campus is safe at all times.
If you get tired of the hospital cafeteria, Jimmy's on Broadway, Sip & Bite (24 hours), and the Captain James (24 hours) are just a short drive or good walk from the Johns Hopkins Hospital--just south in Fells Point. Some folks find spiritual solace in the huge statue of Christ under the famous Hopkins dome. Security can direct you or take you there.