Plans approved to expand Pediatric Emergency Center at USA Health Children’s & Women’s Hospital
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.
Today, the Alabama Certificate of Need Review Board approved USA Health Children’s & Women’s Hospital’s plans to expand and renovate its Pediatric Emergency Center.
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 more 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.
“This will be the first major renovation of our pediatric emergency center since its initial construction in 1997,” said Chris Jett, administrator for Children’s & Women’s Hospital. “Not only has the demand for our services grown with the population of the region, but the space requirements associated with the delivery of the high quality of care we are known for makes this expansion even more important.”
The expansion 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.
“The people in our region have come to rely on the specialized care that only is available at USA Health Children’s & Women’s Hospital,” said Owen Bailey, MHA, FACHE, chief executive officer of USA Health. “For many, our pediatric emergency center is the gateway to resolving their child’s medical issue. We are excited about having the opportunity to meeting those healthcare needs and hopefully providing some additional peace of mind to families in the upper Gulf Coast area.”
USA Health anticipates construction beginning in early 2022 and finishing in mid-2023. The initial estimated cost of the renovation, construction and equipment for the project is $15 million, with USA Health already having raised nearly $10 million through donations. The project will take approximately two years to complete after receiving state approval.
