The New Children’s Hospital Update for Our Community Partners
from Practice Update, Summer 2007
The new Children’s Hospital, located near the intersection of I-225 and East Colfax Avenue, opens October 1 as the epicenter of pediatric healthcare in the Rocky Mountain region. Children’s proudly sits in the first university-affiliated bio-park west of the Mississippi River, including 600,000 square feet of research space, two adult hospitals and the University of Colorado’s medical, dental, nursing and pharmacy schools.
Along with an impressive new space, we have spent a great deal of time improving our systems and customer service. Operationally and architecturally, we intend to be the most dynamic, healing children’s hospital in the United States.
A Warm Welcome
Nationally renowned artist Larry Kirkland
designed seven 20 X 30 foot glass
panels that enliven the open,
four-story Boettcher Atrium.
Highly visible from I-70 and I-225, Children’s easy highway access will deliver families to the new, park-like hospital campus, where the visitor parking lots will accommodate 677 cars. Patient parking sits directly south of the main entrance, which will assist with way-finding.
The beauty and uniqueness of the kid-friendly Boettcher atrium will embrace families as they enter our world-class building. The four-story, open atrium contains engaging artwork by renowned Colorado artists with access via glass elevators to diagnostic and other patient services. The bright color palette and natural light set the atmosphere for an intentionally designed, healing environment.
A more formal welcome anchors the entry area to the inpatient side of the hospital. A central information desk will provide way-finding and security; while the admissions area will handle patient registration. Our concierge services will be located nearby, offering families, medical staff and employees a hand with services including dry cleaning, discounts on local event tickets or getting their car’s oil changed.
Just to the west of the main entrance, the new cafeteria will offer a 24/7 grill and pizza service, as well as a coffee and ice cream bar which will entice families to relax and stay a while.
The terrazzo floor transforms bright colors
and intricate shapes into a mesmerizing
maze made of snowflakes, birds and fish.
Created by local artist Carolyn Braaksma,
the zigzag maze sets the whimsical,
colorful tone of our new hospital's
healing environment.
Ambulatory Clinics
Our ambulatory clinics will be physically separated from our inpatient, surgical and procedure areas, making it easier for families to make their way to outpatient appointments. The clinics sit in the southeast corner of the new hospital and have a dedicated group of elevators that will take families to outpatient clinic areas on floors one to four.
The clinics are color-coded with bold, graphic images that create sensible way-finding. Additionally, families will receive a restaurant-style waiting pager and a room number. The pagers will alert the families to their designated rooms, where a medical assistant will greet them.
We have increased our outpatient care rooms by more than 30 percent to 200 rooms, up from 150 at our current campus.
Patient Financial Services (PFS) will be located adjacent to the check-in areas. Families will no longer need to have appointments in PFS prior to their medical appointments. Instead, they may visit PFS before or after their clinic appointment.
Proudly Introducing Our Procedure Center
Located on the first floor off the Boettcher atrium, our conceptually-new nine procedure suites will provide dentistry, gastroenterology, pulmonary and other specialties a place to conduct procedures previously done in operating rooms or decentralized procedure areas.
This efficient set up will allow for faster turnaround and shorter wait times for scheduling procedures, as well as the capability to accommodate unscheduled, urgent procedures.
Next Door and New in Radiology
Just past the procedure suites sits the expanded and updated radiology department. An open, entertaining waiting area will lead to diagnostic spaces containing the latest technology for pediatric patients.
A second top-of-the-line MRI will replace our current older, secondary MRI when we unpack at the new hospital. This will mean we have two equally capable MRI machines and will ensure that studies are not held up waiting for the best machine. We anticipate this will decrease wait times for MRI studies.
Radiology will also add a biplane angiographic interventional suite for invasive procedures. Presently, the radiologists share this technology with the Cath lab. The new machine will be dedicated for studies such as cranial angiography, trans-jugular liver biopsies and joint orthomyography.
A PET/CT Scanner joins our technology assets at the new hospital. This modality allows for physiologic imaging—allowing physicians to actually look at metabolic activity. PET/CT studies are helpful in the diagnosis and staging of tumors, as well as evaluating seizures.
Children’s radiology department will continue capturing digital images and creating downloadable reports, both available to referring providers via TCH Connect. Radiology Chairman John Strain, MD said “The radiology department’s focus on service and communication will continue, as well as their patient-focused imaging—doing the right study right, the first time.”
Expansion and Improvements in the Emergency Department
The pinwheel configuration in the Newborn
Intensive Care Unit features the latest in noise
reduction and NICU care technology. Half the 60
NICU beds make up the pinwheel areas,
and the other half are in private rooms.
The new emergency department (ED) expands its space from our present 29 rooms to 49 private clinical rooms at the new hospital. Dedicated ED parking is located on the west side of the building in front of the ED. We estimate the additional rooms and process improvements will allow us to accommodate 80,000 visits a year—up from 49,000 at our present location.
We have added a dedicated observation unit with eight private rooms for patients needing care for less than 24 hours. The expanded ED will have separate areas for psychiatry, as well as purpose-specific procedure rooms that are private and separate.
Lou Hampers, MD acting medical director of the emergency department states, “Rooms with equipment specific for ENT, ophthalmology and dental will allow those sub-specialists to see patients needing evaluation in the ED—rather than having to transport the children to clinics where the equipment was located—a great new convenience for patients and families.”
Referring providers may still call ahead to alert the ED attending that a patient is headed in for evaluation. These patients are given priority in the patient queue.
Children’s new ED will be a technological marvel and has been designated as the site for pediatric patients in the wake of a mass casualty, pandemic or bioterrorism event. The unit is equipped with sealed water, waste and air systems, negative air pressure capabilities and both external and internal decontamination areas.
Centralized Services in the Rick Wilson Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders
No longer will a family that is being treated in the center have to remember the locations of the clinic, infusion rooms, playrooms, respite areas or the inpatient rooms.
The Rick Wilson Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders will house all its specialized services in one dedicated area on the seventh floor.
A central elevator bank will deliver families into a warm and inviting waiting area where they may check in for clinic visits, infusions or be admitted to the unit for inpatient care.
Bright, private and shared infusion rooms, two lab drawing areas, a teen center and a BMT unit satellite pharmacy round out the center.
Home for the Heart Institute
The Children’s Hospital Heart Institute will fill the third floor inpatient area at the new hospital. Almost all Cardiology services will converge in one convenient location including the ambulatory cardiology clinic, two dedicated operating rooms, two cutting-edge cardiac catheterization labs and the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit. Our newly opened Cardiac Progressive Care Unit will expand to 14 private rooms giving families a wonderful environment for healing and recovery. “The physicians and caregivers are most excited about having a design that will further support our goal of patient and family centered care,” said Janet Davis, Clinical Director, The Children’s Hospital Heart Institute.
At our current location, cardiac patients check in for their procedures in one of our three operating rooms—outpatient clinics were floors away.
The Heart Institute will now include three dedicated CV operating rooms, the CICU, two cutting-edge cardiac catheterization labs and pre and post surgical check ins. Everything from caths to ECGs to intensive care will be performed directly in the Heart Institute area.
Come See Us
We encourage you to visit in the upcoming months during open houses, CME events or by calling the Physician Relations department at (303) 861-6676 for a walk through beginning this summer. Join in the excitement of opening The new Children’s Hospital.
Learn more about The new Children's Hospital
