State commits total of $1 million for expansion of the Pediatric Emergency Center at Children's & Women's Hospital
The project calls for more than doubling the current emergency department from 9,000 square feet to nearly 19,000 square feet and expanding from 14 treatment areas to more than 30 areas, including 25 private treatment rooms.
As part of the 2021 legislative session, the State of Alabama committed $500,000 to the renovation and expansion of the Pediatric Emergency Center at USA Health Children’s & Women’s Hospital. This brings to $1 million the state’s investment in the project.
“We thank our governmental leaders for these funds. It truly is a demonstration of confidence from them as it relates to the high-quality care we provide and our importance to our overall community,” said Chris Jett, administrator of the hospital.
The project calls for more than doubling the current emergency department from 9,000 square feet to nearly 19,000 square feet and expanding from 14 treatment areas to more than 30 areas, including 25 private treatment rooms. The project also will create two behavioral health rooms and a sensory room to enhance the care for patients with specialized needs.
Further, the space will provide enough room for parents and caregivers to be with their children to enhance the experience for young patients and their loved ones.
The Pediatric Emergency Center at USA Health Children’s & Women’s Hospital is the only healthcare facility in the region offering specialized care 24-hours a day, seven days a week, and staffed with pediatric emergency medicine physicians to best meet the needs of sick and injured children.
The expansion also will strengthen the educational and training opportunities of future healthcare providers including emergency medicine residents, medical students, nurses and nurse practitioners, physician assistants and other allied health professionals. The new space will enable the installation of the most-advanced equipment that future care providers will be using not only now, but for generations to come.
“This project will enable us to have state-of-the-art facilities that match the high-quality care that we uniquely provide to the children in our region,” said Owen Bailey, MHA, FACHE, chief executive officer of USA Health. “We are fortunate to have the only emergency room in the area dedicated to pediatric care, which means we also have the providers specifically trained in this area of medicine. Additionally, we have the opportunity to train future generations of care providers so that we can meet the emergent healthcare needs of children not only today, but well into the future.”
The initial estimated cost of the renovation, construction and equipment for the project is $15 million. With the most recent appropriation from the state, USA Health already has raised more than $10 million through donations. The project will take approximately two years to complete after receiving state approval.
USA Health appears before the state’s Certificate of Need Review Board on June 16 to gain state approval for the project.
