Le Bonheur Children's Hospital expansion allows for new procedural capabilities, family comfort

In the final stretch of a $94 million expansion at Le Bonheur Children's Hospital, cohesion has emerged as a central theme in the design and soon-to-be functions of the hospital addition.

The expansion includes a new cardiac intensive care unit and a cardiac catheterization room coupled with an MRI room for ease of streamlining imagery and procedures.

The cardiac cath room in particular, Le Bonheur staff said, marks a milestone in patient care.

"The point of this space is to provide excellent cardiac care for patients in Memphis and the Mid-South. We'll be able to do cardiac catheterizations without any exposure to radiation, which is a major deal for our pediatric patients. It limits potential risks for radiation problems in the future like cancer," Dr. Jason Johnson said.

Johnson is the associate chief of cardiology at Le Bonheur.

The cardiac cath room also exists to serve patients beyond the City of Memphis.

The ability to share knowledge is core to the cardiac cath room, said Crystal Hughey, the hospital's cardiovascular services director. Whereas the field of adult cardiology can be more guarded insofar as researchers sharing breakthrough findings or the latest procedures, Le Bonheur has no desire to guard its own knowledge.

"Our physicians are really world-known for some of their interventions," Hughey said, adding later that sharing findings solely for glory isn't as heard of in pediatric cardiac circles.

High-resolution cameras are embedded in operating room equipment, allowing close-up views of the cardiac procedures Le Bonheur is known for.

A monitor room affixed to the cardiac cath room has the ability to broadcast cardiac procedures to doctors and hospitals globally. A slew of monitors allows for multiple views that can be controlled.

"It's much easier [to share information] for the little ones," Hughey said.

New cardiac ICU rooms, constructed after Le Bonheur personnel visited other new cardiac ICU wings units in Chicago and Houston, are significantly larger than the average hospital room.

The design of the large rooms lends itself both to patient and family comfort, but also to medical intervention.

The rooms include bathrooms likely to be most utilized by a patient's family members who often have lengthy stays with very sick young patients. A rectangular viewing window to the side of the doors allows for nurses to view the patient and monitors without opening a door and disturbing sleeping patients or family members.

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And, just because they can, a panel of lights installed over the beds will light up with night-sky constellations that can be altered by remote, giving young patients something they can engage with.

On the intervention side, the rooms are capable of being converted into an operating room at a moment's notice. Necessary equipment, like a cardiac pulmonary bypass machine, can be brought into the room for critically ill patients.

The preference, Johnson said, is for patients to be taken to an actual operating room; but sometimes young cardiac patients are too sick, too unstable to be transported.

"These rooms are large enough for us to do just about any operation at the bedside if the need were to arise," Johnson said.

Turner Construction employees are in the final weeks of finishing new surgical, diagnostic, and patient rooms with the target of wrapping up the construction of different components throughout April.

Hiring and training new medical staff will likely extend throughout the rest of 2024.

Le Bonheur plans to celebrate the finish of the expansion on May 8.

Micaela Watts is a reporter for The Commercial Appeal. She can be reached at micaela.watts@commercialappeal.com.

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Le Bonheur Children's Hospital close to completing $94 million expansion