Children’s hospital designed for best health care and support of patients and families

Plans for the new Golisano Children’s Hospital at the University of Rochester Medical Center  were unveiled in March, revealing a space that is special in design and spirit. A groundbreaking ceremony was held in September.

Created to foster an outstanding health care environment dedicated to supporting patients and their families, the new $145-million tower, located on Crittenden Boulevard and attached to the Medical Center and Strong Memorial Hospital, will be eight floors with approximately 245,000 square feet of space. It is slated to open in 2015.

Private patient rooms will provide a comforting experience that reduces stress and anxiety, while enhancing confidentiality. Amenities include a new hospitality suite that parents can use to shower, eat home-cooked meals as a family or even run a load of laundry.

A toddler playroom and a new two-story playdeck will be located on the seventh floor, and a school room and a teen room that will overlook the playdeck will be located on the eighth floor. An outdoor rooftop playspace and a healing garden are also planned.

The new pediatric operating rooms and the new Pediatric Cardiac Intensive Care Unit/Pediatric Intensive Care Unit will open in the new building in 2016. In a later phase of construction, the Ronald McDonald House within the hospital also will be relocated.

Golisano Children’s Hospital’s $100-million campaign supports both a new children’s hospital and major enhancements to pediatric programs. A $20 million lead gift from entrepreneur and philanthropist B. Thomas Golisano, for whom the hospital is named, bolstered plans to build the new facility.

The campaign is part of the University of Rochester Medical Center’s $650 million campaign and the overall $1.2 billion goal of The Meliora Challenge: The Campaign for the University of Rochester.