UF Health Children’s Hospital completes $30 million pediatric unit renovation
Press release from UF Health
BY PEYTON WESNER
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Building on its reputation as one of the nation’s highest-rated centers for pediatric care, UF Health Shands Children’s Hospital completed a $30 million renovation of two renovated pediatric units, featuring advanced-design private rooms and medical-surgical areas.
“The new units bring the facility in line with the quality of care provided by our more than 20 pediatric specialties,” said Rashmin Savani, M.B., ChB., Nemours Eminent Scholar and chair of the Department of Pediatrics at the UF College of Medicine. “It is befitting a major destination for children worldwide with complex medical issues. But it is also an exceptional healing environment as part of Florida’s premier academic children’s hospital.”
Last year, UF Shands Children’s Hospital had more than 7,200 inpatient discharges, completed nearly 9,000 pediatric surgeries, had more than 266,000 outpatients and treated almost 38,000 pediatric ER cases. And the numbers are growing. Patients from across Florida, the country, and world continue to increase.
“The legacy of caring in this space is built on more than bricks, mortar, state-of-the-art equipment, and patient-centered floor designs,” said Michael D. Holmes, M.S.A., UF Health senior vice president and Greater Gainesville regional president. “It takes our physicians, nurses, staff, and our community, advocates, champions, and donors to make a project like this happen.”
Patient rooms feature numerous additions, such as built-in lifts to support patients’ mobility, roll-in showers, ADA-compliant amenities, sleeper sofas, and en suite restrooms. Every patient room has updated furnishings, including new lighting, modern finishes, and smart TVs with enhanced technical capabilities.
New spaces provide opportunities for our youngest patients to relax and decompress. A large area can be configured for multiple purposes, including a playroom, space for Child Life specialists, and other social work and patient activities. Plus, Unit 45 has access to a nutrition room with snacks, a formula pantry, and a lactation area.
“Our goal was always to ensure, first and foremost, that space allowed for excellent care to be delivered in a comfortable, safe, and restful environment. We designed the rooms and the unit to support the important expectation that in the care of patients, we work as a team,” said Shelley Collins, M.D., FAAP, a professor and associate chair of pediatrics at the UF College of Medicine and associate chief medical officer at UF Health. “It’s important to highlight the collaborative design process that included all the people who will collaborate with our patients on the unit — nursing, respiratory, Child Life, EVS, physicians, and the families.” Improvements were also made to better support UF Health staff and nurses. The nursing station is larger, with shared work areas for side-by-side collaboration, and glassed workspaces allow staff to review patient information while maintaining visibility of the unit.
The renovation also updated the lobby and added storage spaces and alcoves for specialized surgical and orthopaedic equipment. The floor includes enhanced staff break rooms.
Funding for the renovations was made possible in part by contributions from state funds, UF Health supporters, and the Children’s Miracle Network.