Patients Will Make 8-mile Move to Anschutz Medical Campus Sept. 29
The aquariums still need to be filled with tropical fish, the toys for the waiting rooms remain tucked in their boxes and, of course, the patients have yet to be moved.
But after nearly six years of planning, Children's Hospital's eight-mile migration from downtown to its new home in Aurora is now a mere three weeks away.
"We only move our hospital once every 100 years," joked Don Kortz, chairman of the hospital's board of directors.
The big patient move is set for Sept. 29, when as many as 185 of the hospital patients will travel via ambulance, helicopter or their own parents' cars to the new, 1.45 million-square-foot, $560 million hospital.
Children's will become part of the Anschutz Medical Campus, already home to the University of Colorado Hospital, which moved in June, and the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center. Eventually, the former site of the old Fitzsimons Army Medical Center will support 66,000 jobs and $6.3 billion in direct and indirect economic activity.
In the meantime, construction workers are polishing off the nine-floor, 270-bed facility. The hospital features touches that are both essential and aesthetic: The building can be locked down in moments, state-of-the-art sensors detect potential biological emergencies and light saturates the six-story atrium.
For the littlest patients, the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit features sound-absorbing ceilings and rubber-backed floors to suppress noise while light is diffused to protect the babies' sensitive eyes.
Children's Hospital, the only dedicated pediatric hospital in the Rocky Mountain region, has treated more than 23,000 patients from outside Colorado in the past 10 years. To accommodate families, each room features pull-out sleeper beds, individual bathrooms with showers and locked storage areas.
There are also 18 hotel-like family suites, which have access to a shared kitchen, living room and laundry facility. Families can stay in the suites at no cost.
"We're taking care not just of the child, but of their entire family," said Jim Shmerling, Children's president and chief executive.
Earlier this month, Exempla St. Joseph Hospital placed Children's downtown Denver site under contract, where St. Joe's is studying the possibility of building a new hospital. Private equity firm Cherokee Investment Partners is in charge of redeveloping the Denver facility.
Children's is retaining a presence downtown, opening a 16-bed pediatric hospital at St. Joe's on Sept. 17. The hospital also has nearly a dozen other satellite locations throughout the state, including Pueblo and Colorado Springs.
Recently, U.S. News & World Report ranked Children's the nation's fourth-best pediatric hospital, up from seventh place last year.
Hospital Features
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Eye-popping design: The Boettcher Atrium floor, designed by Carolyn Braaksma, features a terrazzo mosaic of colors and shapes. John Fielder's photography is used in both the atrium and the cafeteria, including images of ladybugs and columbines on the floor.
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Food for thought: The atrium includes a 24/7 coffee and gelato bar, and the cafeteria features a wood-fired pizza oven, separate fruit and salad bars and ready-to-order food. Patients order their meals from an interactive room service menu on their TVs.
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Theater seating: The teen lounge features a 110-inch high-definition television with 7.1 Dolby surround sound.
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Easy breathing: In the event of a pandemic, the ninth floor has a separate air system that can be sealed off for a quarantine. And in case of a bioterrorism attack, there are four outdoor decontamination showers and eight indoor showers, with their own separate entrance.
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Check in, please: All visitors must present a driver's license when entering the building.
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Accommodations: Every room features a 32-inch flat-screen television, private bathrooms, data ports for Internet access and fold-out beds for families to spend the night. Families also can stay in private hotellike suites, which include bathrooms, a bed and shower. There are shared kitchens and laundry facilities.
View the online article and SLIDE SHOW of the new hospital
