HEALTHY HABITS
If you spend any time on the Rady Children’s campus, you’ve likely noticed that change is in the air—everywhere. That change is coming in the form of a major remodel, expanding the Hospital’s footprint to continue to meet the growing pediatric health care needs of the San Diego community and beyond. “This is the largest campus infrastructure remodeling we have done in our 70-year history, and it’s truly focused on meeting the needs of the community,” explains Nicholas Holmes, MD, MBA, senior ƔĤõăŨŬăŰĤûăŅŹØŅûõĠĤăėŎŨăŬØŹĤŎŅŰŎƬõăŬØŹØûƛ!ĠĤĺûŬăŅ̵ Ű̖ ̱ RŹ is really allowing us to adapt to provide the latest-breaking health care advancements and treatment modalities to people who need it the most.” The centerpiece of the expansion is a 500,000-square-foot, seven- story Intensive Care Unit and Emergency Services Pavilion, which will house 140 intensive care beds among three specialty units—a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), cardiothoracic intensive care unit (CTICU) and pediatric intensive care unit (PICU). The pavilion will also double the capacity of the Hospital’s emergency department, from 46 to 84 beds, and add four operating rooms. Big Moves On Campus DEVELOPMENT Rady Children’s undergoes monumental remodel
Additional features include a connector to the old hospital and— much to Dr. Holmes’ delight—a new cafeteria and kitchen. “I always say that of all the hospitals I’ve been in over my 30-plus- year career, Rady Children’s has some of the best food I’ve had,” Dr. Holmes laughs. “We are taking our kitchen that was built over 35 years ago and we’re creating a bigger space to allow our food ŰăŬƔĤõăŰŰŹØƫŹŎõŬăØŹăăƔăŅò㏏ăŬėŎŎûŹĠØŹŨŬŎƔĤûăŰŰƀŰŹăŅØŅõă ØŅûŅŎƀŬĤŰĠłăŅŹėŎŬŎƀŬėØłĤĺĤăŰØŅûŰŹØƫ̖̲ §ĠăŹŎƕăŬ̵ ŰŰăƔăŅŹĠƲŎŎŬƕĤĺĺŬăłØĤŅăłŨŹƛŹŎØĺĺŎƕėŎŬėƀŹƀŬă improvements. “This is a generational transformation,” says Patrick Frias, MD, president and CEO of Rady Children’s. “We not only need to be sized and scaled appropriately to serve our community today, we need to be built for the future to meet the complex needs of families in the decades ahead.” “Designing a new space allows us to integrate more modern health care models, but when you build a new hospital, you also have to keep in mind that technology always advances,” Dr. Holmes adds. “What we will be able to do is design infrastructure support in anticipation of future needs,” he says. “Our main buildings have been around since the 1950s. This new infrastructure allows us to evolve.” One of the best parts of the reimagined campus was the ĤŅƔŎĺƔăłăŅŹŎėŰŹØƫ̐ ŨØŹĤăŅŹŰØŅûėØłĤĺĤăŰĤŅŹĠăûăŰĤęŅŨŬŎõăŰŰ̐ Dr. Holmes says. “We had over 150 sessions on Zoom and in person, since we started this in the midst of the pandemic and couldn’t meet in person, and involved over 150 people,” he says. “We even built a cardboard
6 HEALTHY KIDS MAGAZINE WINTER 2024
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