Children's Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota Opens New Pediatric Intensive Care Unit in St. Paul

MINNEAPOLIS and ST. PAUL, Minn., July 29, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Children's Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota will host an open house at the Children's Hospital Association (CHA) Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) July 29th, and will open to patients in early August. The new 17,000-square-foot space features 12 private patient rooms that provide families with state-of-the-art technology and a comfortable healing environment while their child is in the PICU.  Children's PICU provides care for some of the most critically ill children in the region. In 2010, nearly 500 patients from 10 different states were treated at Children's-St. Paul PICU.

The rooms, which were designed with input from Children's patient families and staff, feature pull-out sofas, in-room refrigerators, spacious closets, and private bathrooms to make it easier for families to stay with their child. The new PICU space also offers four family sleep rooms, private consult space, a family lounge, and a 6,000-square-foot rooftop garden. The PICU has been fully funded through a generous $1 million gift from the Children's Hospital Association.

"The children we care for in our PICU need the best medical care possible and they need to be in an environment that is comfortable, welcoming, and healing," said Steven Haun, MD, St. Paul PICU medical director. "This new space will allow patients to have more privacy, will allow families to be closer to their children, and will help us continue to provide state-of-the-art care to help those children heal and go home."  

The new PICU marks the completion of another milestone in Children's multi-year $300 million expansion. Construction and renovation of the Minneapolis hospital was completed last year.  Other projects scheduled for St. Paul's campus include a 30,000-square-foot surgery center, an emergency department featuring updated trauma rooms, and a new welcome area scheduled to be completed later this year.

About Children's Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota

Serving as Minnesota's children's hospital since 1924, Children's Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota is one of the largest pediatric health care organizations in the United States, with 340 staffed beds at its two hospitals in St. Paul and Minneapolis. An independent, not-for-profit health care system, Children's of Minnesota provides care through more than 12,000 inpatient visits and more than 200,000 emergency room and other outpatient visits every year. Children's is the only Minnesota hospital system to provide comprehensive care exclusively to children. Children's is regularly ranked among the top pediatric hospitals in the nation by U.S. News & World Report, most recently in 2011 for its neonatal, cancer, cardiovascular and pulmonary care. Once again in 2010, Children's was recognized by the Leapfrog Group as one of the seven top hospitals in the country for quality and efficiency. In addition, the American Nurses Credentialing Center has named Children's a Magnet hospital, a designation that recognizes excellence in nursing.

SOURCE Children's Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota