4/16/2009

Patient families to join leaders from throughout UPMC for ribbon-cutting ceremony

PITTSBURGH, April 16, 2009 — Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC celebrated the grand opening of its new state-of-the-art campus, unparalleled among pediatric hospitals nationwide in its level of technological sophistication and resources dedicated to family-centered care.

Hundreds of guests including Children’s Hospital, UPMC and political leaders, physicians and staff, as well as patients and their families gathered for the ribbon-cutting ceremony today, Thursday, April 16, 2009, to mark the completion of the region’s largest construction project. The first outpatients were seen at the new campus beginning Monday, April 20, 2009, and the hospital officially opened at 6 a.m. Saturday, May 2, 2009.

“Today marks the beginning of an exciting new era for Children’s Hospital. We can now say with pride that we have an amazing new campus to match the world-class physicians, nurses and staff who have made Children’s such a special place for the patients and families from this region and across the country,” said Mrs. Mary Jo Howard Dively, Esq., chair, Children’s Hospital Board of Trustees. “We’re grateful that the entire community has been so supportive of Children’s Hospital throughout the years, and this new hospital is a testament to our commitment to provide these families with the absolute best medical care in the safest environment possible.”

The new Children’s Hospital is a technologically advanced campus and one of the first pediatric hospitals in the nation built from the ground up to support an electronic health record. It also features an environmentally sustainable design, innovations to improve patient safety and a quiet, comfortable atmosphere built to enhance the healing process for patients and their families.

“The new Children’s Hospital, along with the $100 million contribution to the Pittsburgh Promise are expressions of UPMC’s commitment to the children and families of this region. The opening of this facility ushers in a new era of health care and introduces another platform for economic development in this region,” said Mr. Jeffrey A. Romoff, president and CEO, UPMC.

Children’s Hospital’s new $625 million campus includes a 296-bed main hospital and four other buildings on a 10-acre campus in the Lawrenceville neighborhood of Pittsburgh. The campus — with 1.5 million square feet of usable space — replaces a smaller, outdated campus in Oakland. The new hospital is 25 percent larger than the Oakland hospital, and the new John G. Rangos Sr. Research Center is 50 percent larger than its predecessor.

The new Children’s Hospital was designed by Pittsburgh-based architectural firm Astorino with input from patients and families, as well as caregivers. Its design is grounded in five principles:

• Patient safety and quality – Advancements such as private patient rooms will reduce infection rates, improve patient privacy and control noise levels. Nearly half of the operating suites in the new hospital are designed to accommodate minimally invasive procedures. Furthermore, all operative services will be located on one floor, including operating suites, a catheterization lab, interventional radiology, a procedures center and an infusion center. Other, more subtle improvements will allow staff to restock supplies or dispose of dirty linens away from the view of patients and visitors, thus enhancing privacy.
• Technological sophistication – Children’s Hospital has been a national leader in the introduction and adoption of the electronic health record since 2002, when it became the first pediatric hospital in the country to fully implement a Computerized Physician Order Entry (CPOE) system, which greatly reduces the risk of medication and other errors and improves patient care. Since then, it has adopted a fully integrated electronic health record called the Children’s eRecord. All of this technology is supported by a massive infrastructure in the new hospital. There are more than 4,000 computers, including mobile monitor carts; more than 400 miles of cabling in the main hospital; 2,000 wireless access points and 100 percent coverage for most wireless technologies.
• Family-centered care – Nearly all of the inpatient rooms are private, with inviting colors and soft fabrics, and feature comfortable sleeping spaces for parents/guardians, televisions featuring movies and games “on demand” and Internet access. The sixth floor of the main hospital boasts one of the largest family resource centers of any pediatric hospital in the world. The Elsa M. and Alma E. Mueller Family Resource Center includes the four-story Eat’n Park Atrium (with large movie screen), the outdoor Howard Hanna Healing Garden, a music therapy room, classroom, chapel, the Moulis Children’s Library and a business center for parents.
• Quiet building – Research shows that a quiet hospital environment enhances patient healing and satisfaction among caregivers. Through the use of more than 30 specific design measures, Children’s will reduce noise in patient areas, public spaces, lounges and consultation rooms. Those measures include the use of “soft” wheels on carts, extensive use of carpeting and door seals, masonry exterior walls in most patient rooms, acoustic ceiling tile in lieu of hard ceilings and sound-deadening elevator cab enclosures.
• Environmental sustainability – The new Children’s Hospital is designed as a “green” campus, meaning that buildings will use key resources such as energy, water, materials, and land more efficiently than buildings erected simply to building code. Environmentally sustainable buildings contribute to improved health, comfort and productivity of their residents by utilizing more natural light and promoting better air quality. Two buildings on the campus – the main hospital and the Rangos Research Center — will be Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design–certified.

For more information about the new Children’s Hospital, including a virtual tour, please visit our website.