Tour: Children's Hospital of UPMC
Duration: One Hour
Overview
The $622 million hospital and research facility, which opened in May, is one of the first all-digital pediatric hospitals in the country, a leader in the use of “green” practices to protect the environment, and a model of “patient-centered care.” Every aspect of the design, from spacious, private rooms to a rooftop healing garden, focuses on the comfort, convenience and safety of patients and families. Built with no storage room for paper records, the hospital enters 99.5 percent of its data electronically—from doctors’ notes to medication orders. The result is better care for patients and improved communication for staff.
What you’ll see:
- Emergency Department – The entry point for many patients into the hospital, this is an example of how the electronic health record is put into action when a patient first enters the emergency department.
- Inpatient unit- This unit includes key hospital features including the four-story atrium, outdoor healing garden, multidenominational chapel, children’s library and Austin’s Playroom. It also offers another example of how the electronic health record is utilized for inpatients.
- Pediatric Intensive Care Unit-Spanning an entire city block, this unit includes 36 private intensive care units for the most critically ill children. The unit features a unique component of the electronic health record, a “dashboard” for physicians to view all vital information about their patients on one screen, specifically designed for this hospital.
- Outpatient clinic-The third floor is divided into “pods” where outpatients come for appointments with pediatric specialists such as allergists, cardiologists, endocrinologists, gastroenterologists, surgeons, urologists, etc. The hall from this floor also features a unique time wall, a combined history of the hospital and Pittsburgh.
- John G. Rangos Sr. Research Center -This 9-story 300,000-square-foot center research center houses the hospital’s pediatric research program, which is among the fastest growing in the country based on National Institutes of Health funding. It is designed around the concept of the open laboratory with flexible central lab space that encourages interaction and the sharing of equipment. The space accommodates 70 principal investigators and supports biomedical research, including genomics, cellular imaging, signal transduction, structural biology, immunology and neuro-science, among other fields.
