CON Requested for New Pediatric ED at Brenner Children’s Hospital

January 16, 2009

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center has submitted an application to the state to develop a pediatric Emergency Department (ED) in Ardmore Tower directly below the current emergency department.

If approved, the Certificate of Need (CON) would allow Wake Forest Baptist to renovate 23,905 square feet to increase the number of treatment rooms from 17 to 24. The proposed Pediatric ED represents an important component to Brenner Children’s Hospital and the new Childress Institute for Pediatric Trauma.

“The three components of a dedicated pediatric ED, Brenner Children’s Hospital and the Childress Institute for Pediatric Trauma will serve to strengthen the Medical Center’s ability to provide world-class pediatric and emergency medicine in western North Carolina and beyond,” said Donny Lambeth, president of North Carolina Baptist Hospital.

In addition, the new Pediatric ED will include the ability to provide pediatric resuscitation, support the latest technologies, and enable Wake Forest Baptist to perform diagnostic radiography and computerized tomography (CT) within the space.

Wake Forest Baptist and Brenner Children’s Hospital have been innovators in delivering health care to the communities they serve by offering the only children’s hospital in northwestern North Carolina.

The Pediatric ED project offers several innovations:

• The first designated Pediatric emergency department in western North Carolina.
• Improved access to child-focused emergency and urgent-care services.
• Increased security for pediatric patients by separating them from the adult and general population.
• Direct access to Brenner Children’s Hospital and the associated clinical expertise.
• Coordination with the Childress Pediatric Institute of Trauma to be able to take advantage of the latest research and treatment protocols.
• Direct access to the Brenner Children’s Hospital level IV neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).

The total capital cost for the project is $19,040,600. If approved, the expected completion date is early 2011.

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Media Relations Contacts: Bonnie Davis, bdavis@wfubmc.edu, (336) 716-4977; or Rae Bush, rbush@wfubmc.edu, at (336) 716-4587.

Media Relations

Main Number: news@wakehealth.edu, 336-713-4587