Nemours Breaks Ground on Children’s Hospital

On February 25, Nemours broke ground on its children’s hospital and pediatric health campus in Lake Nona’s medical city. The 620,000-square-foot children’s hospital will include 95 beds and serve as the core of a 60-acre pediatric health campus featuring a children’s clinic, emergency department, diagnostic and ambulatory programs along with education and research centers. Nemours plans to open the $400 million hospital in 2012. The momentous event marks a historic milestone for children and their families. The celebration would have not been possible without the generous support and dedication of community partners including Lake Nona, Fry Hammond Barr, Mears Transportation, Tim Webber The Coordinator, Inc., The Pop Shop Inc., Skanska USA Building Inc. and Stanley Beaman & Sears.The new top-tier pediatric health care system will focus on the unique and varied needs of medically complex children – and bring a comprehensive depth of specialized health care that isn’t offered today in Central Florida. Nemours’ campus will provide access to a full-line of specialty services and will also improve pediatric care to the region through coordinated patient-centered medical services, biomedical research, medical and allied health training, educational programs as well as pediatric prevention services and child advocacy programs.

“The Nemours Children’s Hospital and integrated health campus will improve pediatric care in Florida and throughout the country. It will also make access to health care options for children significantly less challenging for families,” stated Jeffrey E. Green, Nemours vice president and chief administrative officer for Florida. “Together, we have the honor and challenge of creating an integrated pediatric health care system for the future. Nemours’ model of care and holistic integrated approach will enable improvements in pediatric services for the children of the Central Florida region and beyond.”

The Nemours Children’s Hospital and pediatric health campus is strategically situated in the heart of the Lake Nona’s medical city, and is within close proximity to other major medical entities including the UCF College of Medicine, Burnham Institute for Medical Research, Orlando Veterans Affairs Medical Center, M.D. Anderson Cancer Research Institute and University of Florida research facility. The location will encourage partnerships and allow Nemours to capitalize on synergies between the various organizations at the emerging medical destination.

In addition to being patient and family-friendly, the Nemours Children’s Hospital will incorporate high performance, environmentally friendly and sustainable design concepts into the hospital so that the facility can achieve the US Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED®) certification.

Nemours is actively involved in the planning and design phase of the campus. The organization formed a team last year to design the hospital and guide the process that would create Nemours’ vision for the future of pediatric health care. The design team consists of more than 150 internal and external health care business experts, clinicians, architects and individuals collaborating to provide critical insight into pediatric care delivery for the new health system. In keeping with Nemours’ commitment to excellence, the organization has engaged well-renowned and highly respected consultants with a depth of experience in health care design including Stanley Beaman & Sears, Perkins+Will and IDEO.

Nemours has also included the public in the design process by developing a family advisory panel comprised of parents with children facing complex medical issues. These individuals were selected to provide input and feedback on the appearance and functionality of the hospital based on their personal experiences within the pediatric health care system. Nemours has gained perspective directly from these parents in order to create a facility that meets the actual needs and preferences of patients, families and the wider community.

Skanska USA Building Inc. will serve as the construction manager that will oversee the construction process of the project. This firm has tremendous international and national experience building truly innovative structures, and the Central Florida team brings strong health care facility experience to the project. Site work is scheduled to begin in June and Nemours fully anticipates meeting the mandated Agency for Health Care Administration deadline of August 19, 2009 for completion of the hospital’s physical foundation.

Connect With Us