Children's Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota Opens New Pediatric Surgery Center in St. Paul

MINNEAPOLIS and ST. PAUL, Minn., Aug. 24, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Children's Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota will showcase its new pediatric surgery center in St. Paul on August 24th before opening to the public on Sept. 12. This 30,000 square-foot pediatric surgery center is the largest upgrade and expansion at the St. Paul hospital.

Designed to make the surgery experience as comfortable as possible for the patient and the family, the entire surgical experience will now be concentrated in a single area with a one-stop check-in method. The system lets families concentrate on caring for their child and alleviates the need to navigate through a hospital during an already stressful time in their lives.

The Center's large surgical suites feature a designated work station for surgeons and providers.  Dedicated pediatric specialists, critical care nurses, and anesthesiologists will be available for patients. An improved inpatient and outpatient process flow will also provide increased efficiency, and allow nursing staff to better care for patients when they need it most.

Private pre/post-operative rooms in the Center will allow families to be with their child when they are being sedated, and, whenever possible, when they wake up. This can greatly reduce the stress for children who need anesthesia.  

Children's performs 24,000 surgeries annually, the most in the five-state area. Our surgical staff care for more than half of all pediatric hospital-based outpatient surgeries in Minnesota, giving them the expertise to perform complex and simple surgery on patients ranging from tiny neonates to young adults.

"Families with a child about to undergo surgery are often nervous and scared. So it is crucial to create an environment where everyone feels comfortable," said Gloria Drake, senior director of perioperative clinical services. "At Children's, we have always provided the best possible medical care, now we have surgical suites that will enhance the experience, and help us continue to raise the bar for pediatric care."

Children's also plans to open a new state-of-the-art Central Processing Department one floor above the surgery center, which will service the entire St. Paul campus with sterile instruments.  This service will give all units quick access to sterile equipment 24 hours a day.

Other construction projects scheduled for St. Paul's campus include an expanded emergency department featuring updated trauma rooms and a new welcome area scheduled to be completed later this year. Children's opened a new 17,000-square-foot pediatric intensive care unit in early August.

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 organization 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