With child- and adult-size shovels in hand‚ children and representatives from the University of Minnesota‚ Fairview Health Services‚ and state and local government on June 18 broke ground on a new‚ state-of-the-art facility for the University of Minnesota Children’s Hospital, Fairview.
The groundbreaking ceremony marked the start of construction on the new hospital building‚ which is scheduled to open in 2011.
The new facility will replace the current “hospital-within-a-hospital” configuration and unite child and mother services in one familyfriendly location. It also will house some of the country’s leading clinical programs‚ including programs in pediatric organ transplantation‚ blood and marrow transplantation‚ cancer treatment‚ and heart surgery.
The new hospital building will be “green‚” incorporating an environmentally sensitive design‚ eco-friendly materials‚ and green spaces‚ such as a healing garden. It also will be “lean‚” meaning that it’s designed to maximize value for patients and their families by reducing errors‚ waste‚ waiting time‚ and unnecessary transport or movement.
And it’s all to provide the highest-quality experience for children and their families in an environment of hope and healing.
“This new building will be the perfect setting for our academic children’s hospital to carry out our threefold mission of research and discovery‚ teaching and learning‚ and outreach and public service—making it a center of pediatric health for Minnesota’s children and families‚” says University President Robert Bruininks, Ph.D.
