NEW ORLEANS — On Jan. 11, a groundbreaking ceremony took place for the expansion of the Children’s Hospital in New Orleans. The $225 million project will take place on the 17-acre former New Orleans Adolescent Hospital campus, land that LCMC Health (which manages Children’s Hospital in New Orleans) purchased for $29 million back in 2014. The New Orleans Adolescent Hospital, a psychiatric facility the state opened in 1981, closed in 2009, according to an article by NOLA.com.

Children’s Hospital has the only Pediatric Cardiac ICU in the region. The 20-bed unit will be expanded with all private rooms to serve children in need of this incredibly specialized care.
Photo Credit: Courtesy of Children’s Hospital

The project will include a new parking garage, expanded cancer center with inpatient and outpatient services together, expanded critical care facilities and an elevated walkway connecting the new garage to the hospital. The project will also include a same-day surgery unit with private rooms, a cardiac intensive care and neonatal intensive care unit with private rooms, a cancer center and a new main entrance, reception and lobby area.

Construction on the hospital will be completed in three phases, according to a statement by Children’s Hospital. The first and last phases lasting approximately 12 to 18 months and the middle phase taking longer at 24 to 28 months, according to the statement.

“This project is a dream in the making for our physicians, employees, patients and community,” said Mary Perrin, CEO of Children’s Hospital, in a statement. “We’ve worked with our physicians and the families we serve to identify the services and amenities that will improve the delivery of and access to pediatric care.”

The Children’s Hospital currently has 247 beds and Atlanta-based Stanley, Beaman and Sears (SBS) are serving as the architecture firm on the project.