MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Le Bonheur Children’s celebrated the Grand Opening of its new critical care expansion on Le Bonheur Green in front of the hospital main entrance on Wednesday morning. The event has attended by Le Bonheur employees, physicians, community partners and donors.
Words were shared from Le Bonheur President and CEO, Dr. Trey Eubanks, Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare CEO, Michael Ugwueke, Mayor of Memphis, Paul Young and Le Bonheur Club President, September Eason before the cutting of the symbolic ribbon on our new critical care expansion with families gathered around.
In the largest expansion of Le Bonheur Children’s since opening the current building in 2010, this expansion adds four floors to the west side of the hospital including a new cardiovascular intensive care unit (CVICU), 14 new beds for the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), and 8 new beds for the post-anesthesia care unit (PACU). The scope also included revamping the existing ninth floor to create more usable space. The project has used innovative design and construction practices to ensure the built environment accommodates the technology and patient care needs of the hospital.
NICU
The expansion brings 14 additional beds to the current 60 bed unit with ability to quickly expand to accommodate future growth.
Le Bonheur’s Level IV NICU provides the highest level of acute care for babies with the most complex medical issues. Babies come to Le Bonheur from around the region for expert care.
Hybrid MRI/Catheterization Lab
This suite allows experts in Le Bonheur’s Heart Institute to have the capability for highly efficient quality imaging to better make diagnoses more quickly.
Le Bonheur’s interventional cardiac MRI suite is the only one in the state of Tennessee and is one of the first in the country.
This space also allows Le Bonheur and University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC) personnel to offer their expertise to children’s hospitals around the world through teaching and information sharing. Doctors have the capability to live stream from the catheterization lab to showcase techniques and share their expertise.
Le Bonheur is also completing a Virtual Reality Lab that will allow physicians to virtually build a 3D model of a patient’s heart, determine where to place any needed devices and create a precise plan for procedures and surgeries. Doctors will be able to build a 3D model from the raw data gathered from a patient’s CT scan, MRI or 3D echocardiogram and through virtual reality will be able to step inside a patient’s heart and see the outcome of their procedure before ever touching the patient.
Le Bonheur will be one of only a few pediatric centers in the world using virtual reality to plan heart surgeries and cath lab procedures. Precise planning leads to safer and faster surgeries and procedures for patients at Le Bonheur’s Heart Institute.
CVICU
Le Bonheur’s Heart Institute has experienced significant growth in the past five years and the expansion was a necessary step for the growth of the program. Children and families rely on Le Bonheur’s nationally recognized Heart Institute for excellent care for congenital heart conditions. Children are coming from all over the United States for the expertise based at Le Bonheur and UTHSC.
This new space will be used as a 31-bed cardiovascular unit. This will add 17 CVICU beds to the existing 10-bed unit and create room for a 14-bed flexible stepdown cardiac unit.
About Le Bonheur Children’s
Le Bonheur Children’s, based in Memphis, Tenn., provides expert care for children in more than 45 pediatric subspecialties, encompassing robust community programs, a pediatric research institute and regional outpatient centers in Jackson, Tenn., Tupelo, Miss., and Jonesboro, Ark. Le Bonheur also features a 255-bed hospital in Memphis and a 21-bed satellite hospital within Jackson-Madison County General Hospital in Jackson, Tenn. As the primary pediatric teaching affiliate for the University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Le Bonheur trains more than 350 pediatricians and specialists each year. Nationally recognized, Le Bonheur has been named a U.S. News & World Report Best Children’s Hospital for 13 consecutive years and is a Magnet-designated facility, the ultimate credential for high-quality patient care and nursing excellence.
For more information, please call (901) 287-6030 or visit lebonheur.org. Connect with us at facebook.com/lebonheurchildrens, twitter.com/lebonheurchild or on Instagram at lebonheurchildrens.
