Golisano Children’s Hospital is Dedicated – Celebrating Kids, Community, and Future

Miracle Kids, grateful families, University of Rochester leadership, and significant building donors including hospital namesake B. Thomas Golisano celebrated the dedication of UR Medicine’s Golisano Children’s Hospital on May 27, 2015.

• Largest capital project in University of Rochester’s history
• Will be first children’s hospital in the United States to include integrated PET/MRI imaging capability
• Newly built hospital features all-private rooms, child-friendly play spaces and more

VIDEO: Dedication Ceremonies For the New Golisano Children’s Hospital Courtesy WXXI

The largest capital project in the university’s history, the new eight-story, $145 million hospital is 245,000 square feet. For the first time, the children’s hospital will feature all-private rooms and specialized technology dedicated to healing sick and injured children. The new space is set to open in mid-July for the 74,000 children across the Finger Lakes region that come to Golisano Children’s Hospital for care each year.

The celebration started at 4 p.m., and was emceed by 13WHAM anchor and Golisano Children’s Hospital board member Jennifer Johnson. Remarks followed from:

• University of Rochester President Joel Seligman
• University of Rochester Board Chair Ed Hajim
• University Board Chair-Elect Danny Wegman
• University CEO and School of Medicine and Dentistry Dean Mark Taubman, M.D.
• Pediatrician-in-Chief Nina F. Schor, M.D., Ph.D.
• Grateful parent Kim Winter
• Hospital namesake B. Thomas Golisano

A “Parade of Miracles,” complete with drummers and more than 30 children in our care, were part of the dedication.  In addition to the customary ribbon that was cut, the ceremony also included a symbolic “ribbon” made from patients’ and families’ hand-drawn pictures, stickers and messages of thanks. Faculty and staff of the children’s hospital have fashioned these heartfelt messages into a brightly colored paper ribbon that the parade participants will cut.

A Hospital Built by the Community

Recognized as “the hospital the community built,” the new children’s hospital is a product of years of planning by visionary leaders. Nearly 8,500 individuals and community groups have given more than $53 million in philanthropic gifts to the new hospital to date. Donors have come from 38 states, the District of Columbia, and two of Canada’s Provinces. One-third of donors, many of whom are children, have given $25 or less.

Leading gifts include:

• A $20 million pledge by Golisano which launched the project’s fundraising campaign
• A $7 million commitment from the Wegman Family Foundation
• $5 million from Georgia Gosnell to name the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit
• $3 million from Rick Aab in honor of the Ganatra family, for which the atrium is named
• More than 120 spaces in the new hospital are named in honor of commitments by generous donors.

“The new children’s hospital will be a destination for specialized pediatric care, made possible by the vision of several innovative minds and the donations of many,” said Mark Taubman, M.D., University of Rochester CEO and School of Medicine and Dentistry dean. “Medical staff will be practicing with the latest technology and research in a beautiful, state-of-the-art facility.”

A Hospital Environment Designed with Children and Families in Mind

The hospital environment was designed to minimize stress, fear and anxiety for patients and families. Features include:

• A child-friendly approach to way-finding that showcases the many beautiful landscapes of upstate New York. Each floor features a different theme, including lakes, meadows, parks, and cities.
• Kid-friendly décor, including a two-story discovery wall that holds a fish tank; a large colorful mobile in the main lobby
• Resources for families: a sibling club house, where well children can have some play time while their siblings receive care; the Ronald McDonald House Family Room, which offers laundry, showers and a kitchenette; a family library and resource center
• Restful outdoor spaces, Grace’s Garden and Lauren’s Garden, which were funded by community donations in honor of Golisano Children’s Hospital patients and their families
• A toddler playroom and a new two-story Play Deck on the seventh and eighth floors will allow kids to get away from their rooms for activities.
• The Play Deck offers an expansive view that stretches all the way to the Bristol Hills. A School Room and a Teen Lounge that overlook the lower level of the Play Deck.

Improved Clinical Spaces, Advanced Technology Additions

The hospital includes clinical care improvements and specialized technology.

• A dedicated pediatric imaging suite, with a new PET/MRI and family waiting area. Golisano Children’s Hospital is the first hospital in upstate New York and the first children’s hospital in the nation to have this integrated and innovative technology. Combining the two imaging technologies in one device means a child will undergo one imaging procedure instead of two, with less radiation exposure.
• Private inpatient rooms with built-in sleeping accommodations for parents in each room. All 52 inpatient rooms in the new hospital are about one-third larger than current semi-private rooms.
• The greatly expanded Gosnell Family Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) will add 44 new private rooms for our region’s tiniest patients and sickest babies. The Gosnell Family NICU, located on the new building’s third floor, will provide intensive care in rooms three times that of the current space. Private rooms will not only allow for more space, but also support infection control and enable parents to more actively participate in their child’s care. After renovations, the current NICU will expand in the amount of space provided, housing 24 modernized rooms that will reflect the same accommodations as the new space.
• The two general care floors include spaces designed especially for the needs of caregivers and staff. Both floors are equipped with a caregiver respite lounge – meant just for adults – as well as waiting and reception areas. Staff members have an “off-stage” area away from clinical care to decrease traffic and noise.

Golisano Children’s Hospital is the leading pediatric hospital for the Finger Lakes region. It offers specialized services including cardiovascular, neonatal care, critical care, hematology, oncology, bone marrow transplant, nephrology, gastrointestinal (GI), renal transplant, urology, surgery, pulmonology, sleep medicine, burn care, trauma, plastic surgery, ear, nose and throat (ENT), adolescent medicine, gynecology (GYN), endocrinology, and orthopaedics just to name a few.

“The new children’s hospital will allow us to take our goal of patient- and family-centered care to a new level,” said Nina Schor, M.D., Ph.D., the William H. Eilinger Chair of Pediatrics and Pediatrician-in-Chief of Golisano Children’s Hospital. “Children heal faster and more comfortably when their families are close by and when the family is a part of the care team. Our new building now allows us to better accommodate these needs.”

Phase two of the children’s hospital construction will include building an operating suite on the building’s fourth floor and moving the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) to the sixth floor. Construction is scheduled to start later this year and be completed in 2016.