New UTMB Health Children’s Hospital Opens

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston has now reached another milestone in its distinguished history at the forefront of pediatric care. On Tuesday, April 17, 2012, UTMB opens the doors of a new Children’s Hospital on the 10th floor of John Sealy Hospital.

A century ago, pediatrics was a tiny field of medical practice. At the beginning of the 20th century, there were only five or six doctors in the United States who devoted their practice exclusively to pediatrics.
UTMB has been a leader in children’s medical care since those earliest days when pediatrics began to emerge as a separate field of practice.  In 1915, UTMB was commissioned by the state to build the first children’s hospital in Texas.  In 1924, UTMB established the first department of pediatrics in the state — one of the first departments of pediatrics in the nation.

After UTMB’s Children’s Hospital closed in the wake of Hurricane Ike, UTMB’s pediatric hospital services were relocated to floors in the John Sealy Hospital that were designed for adults.

The opening of the new UTMB Health Children’s Hospital marks the end of years of detailed planning and designing by members of UTMB’s pediatric faculty and staff.

“The new UTMB Health Children’s Hospital offers unsurpassed care for children in an intimate, family-centered environment designed for both healing and fun,” said Donna Sollenberger, executive vice president and CEO, UTMB Health System. “We are so proud to open this beautiful new facility that brings a whole new level of pediatric inpatient service to our community.”

The fully redesigned hospital within a hospital reflects an attention to all the details that matter to children, offering the whimsy and serenity of an ocean/island color and design scheme along with many special spaces for toddlers, older children and teenagers to play, relax, unwind and spend time with family members. Large patient rooms have couches that convert to beds, large flat-screen TVs with DVD players, in-room refrigerators and large comfortable chairs that fully recline.

Common spaces are punctuated with shiny, whimsical art commissioned by Austin artist Allison Gregory. Along the ceiling there are tiles painted as sea creatures by former pediatric patients. Transoms and doors throughout the space are filled with sea-blue bubbled glass. There is a state of-the-art arcade, an air-hockey table, Wii game units, X Boxes, Play Stations and many other toys, puzzles, games, books and DVDs for all ages in the common rooms.

Special details like sea-creature tiles that accent all the patient bathrooms, translucent aquamarine countertops throughout the unit and a serene meditation area for families illustrate the attention that the leadership team and designers gave to every small nuance of the unit’s space.

The new UTMB Health Children’s Hospital is served by a child life program. Child life specialists promote effective coping through play and provide emotional support for families and children during a hospital stay. The child life specialist is an integral part of the team during any procedure that might be frightening or painful, helping children to relax and remember to have fun even when they are sick. The entire Children’s Hospital was designed with this combination of healing and fun in mind.

“What sets our Children’s Hospital apart from other larger children’s hospitals in our area is the intimate, family-centered, personal experience our patients and families have when they are here,” said Dr. Christine Turley, vice chairwoman for pediatric clinical services.

“We offer a very personal program, a very consistent team and not a lot of shuffling between different providers for families who are under the stress of a child’s hospitalization.  Our pediatric hospitalist service is dedicated to evidence-based medicine, assuring the most up-to-date care,” said Turley. 

“At the same time, we provide specialty care that is unsurpassed. Our pediatric specialty and subspecialty physicians have many years of special training and the expertise that accompanies this.  Our professional staff are all specially trained to care for children. Together this reflects the deep commitment of UTMB to providing the best possible care for children and creates a multidisciplinary team of experts, focused on one common goal, improving the health of each child in our care,” said Turley.

Public tours of the new UTMB Health Children’s Hospital will be available on Wednesdays by appointment. For more information, call (409) 772-1594.