Construction Begins On South Bend’s Memorial Children’s Hospital
SOUTH BEND — Construction has begun on the new $50 million Memorial Children’s Hospital in South Bend. The project, led by Beacon Health Systems, is supported through $10 million in donations and is expected to open in 2017. The 100,000 square-foot expansion plans for hematology, oncology, pediatric intensive care services and a roof garden and family lounge.
Memorial Hospital Women’s and Children’s Services Executive Director, Michaeleen Conlee, tells Inside INdiana Business the newborn intensive care unit “couplet care” rooms will allow moms close contact with their babies as early as 22 weeks gestation fresh out of delivery.
Pediatric care at Memorial Hospital has grown from its initial form as a pediatrics unit. It was officially designated a children’s hospital by the National Association of Children’s Hospitals and Related Institutions in 2004.
Beacon Chief Executive Officer, Kreg Gruber, says, “every inch of the new facility was carefully thought through by our staff. With patients and families at the center of all we do, each new space was designed to provide the safest and most comfortable environment, which provides the best possible service to families and children. Most people don’t realize just how important these services are until they need this level of care themselves.”
