VCU breaks ground on new children’s facility
Nicki Czaja
Contributing Writer
The Children’s Hospital of Richmond at VCU is set to begin the construction of a facility to concentrate on outpatient pediatric services at MCV.
The university held a groundbreaking ceremony for what will be called the Children’s Pavilion on Monday, a ceremony that included statements from VCU President Michael Rao and Dr. Sheldon Retchin, CEO of the VCU Health System. The facility will be on the 1000 block of East Broad Street, between 10th and 11th streets.
“The new pavilion reinforces VCU’s significant commitment as a research university to human health, especially in advancing children’s health care,” Rao said during the ceremony.
The new building is set to be the largest medical facility dedicated to children in central Virginia. The new facility, which will be 640,000 square feet and cost roughly $168 million, is set to include 72 examination rooms and a surgical space that will contain two operating rooms and two procedure rooms in the same area. Specific areas for diagnostic exams, imaging, and laboratory services will be included in the new building, as well as a 600-space parking garage. Funding for the project is coming from VCU Health System Reserve funds and bond sales.
John Duval, CEO of MCV Hospital said one of the main goals of the facility is to create a more comfortable treatment environment for children.
“At the end of the day, it’s all about the patient,” Duval said. “And when your patient population includes some of the smallest and most vulnerable among us, it’s not only about the patient, but about the family as well.”
Pediatric services are currently spread across the medical campus.
Some students were unaware of what the new building would hold.
“I’ve heard it’s pretty much the parking deck,” said Mimi Richardson, a current nursing student on the women’s health track. “I’ve heard [the construction] is coming up but I don’t know of any opportunities [to get involved].”
VCU officials were unable to say whether it would be possible for medical students to get involved at the facility. Information on opportunities for current and future medical students will be made available in the coming weeks, after the groundbreaking is complete and construction has started.
The new facility is set to be opened during the summer of 2015. Construction will be completed by Skanska USA Building Inc., and the architecture design is from HKS, Inc.
