University of Missouri Children's Hospital and Birthing Center welcomes young patients
The first young patients moved in April 9, but the new University of Missouri Children's Hospital and Birthing Center is in the spotlight this week with media tours, ribbon cuttings and community and employee open houses.
On Tuesday, the media and hospital employees were allowed in.
The seven-story hospital covers 323,000 square feet and 146 beds. Construction came in on budget at $232 million during a time of increasing construction costs, said Keri Simon, interim chief operating officer of MU Health Care.
The very first patients got a special honor, said Laura Hesemann, chair of pediatrics and chief medical officer.
"The kids got to cut the ribbons" to their rooms, Hesemann said.
The initial move-in has gone well, she said.
"It has been beautiful," Hesemann said. "It has been so smooth. I think it has gone way more smoothly than any of us anticipated. It's an exciting time."
There's an outdoor playground and several indoor play areas. Some floors, like pediatrics, have colorful murals on the hallway walls showing Missouri wildlife and plants.
Every floor connects to MU Hospital. Large windows allow in natural light. LED lighting in the building can be adjusted for day or night operations.
All the rooms are private rooms, Simon said.
In neonatal intensive care, families can have their own private space, but they also can form relationships with others going through the same experiences, said Daniela Bichianu, medical director of neonatal intensive care.
The moms are encouraged to hold their babies, she said.
"Skin-to-skin contact is very important," Bichianu said.
The NICU has 62 rooms.
"All the patients are going to have their own private rooms," she said.
There are two NICU rooms at the current building on Keene Street.
There are wellness rooms.
"Sometimes parents and sometimes the doctors can get overwhelmed," Bichianu said of the purpose of the rooms.
There's a nutrition room, which Bichinau also referred to as the milk lab.
"This is very cool, I think," she said.
The climate-controlled refrigerators will hold breast milk from moms and also from breast milk banks.
"This is truly state-of-the-art," Bichianu said.
The labor and delivery floor "has a little different vibe" from some other floors of the hospital, said Jean Goodman, chair of the department of obstetrics, gynecology and women's health. Absent from this floor and the NICU floor are the colorful exterior hall murals.
There's an operating room for caesarian deliveries but surgeons also can perform more complicated operations and fetuses and infants, Goodman said.
Twins have a lot of complications, she said.
A community open house takes place from 3 to 7 p.m. Thursday, with a ribbon-cutting at 3:30.
And what about parking?
"Parking is certainly challenging," Simon said.
Garages A and B, across Hosptial Drive from the hospital, will offer shuttles. Signs outside the parking garages will indicate the number of spaces available or if they are full.
"We want folks to be able to find parking quickly and easily," Simon said
The remaining patients will move from the Keene Street building starting June 10.
That building, known as Women's and Children's Hospital, will be used in the short-term for outpatient surgeries, but a long-term use for the building hasn't been decided, Simon said.
"There's a lot of life in the building," Simon said.
Roger McKinney is the Tribune's education reporter. You can reach him at rmckinney@columbiatribune.com or 573-815-1719. He's on X at @rmckinney9.
This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: Here's what to know about new MU Children's Hospital, Birthing Center
