Grand Opening: Children's Hospital University of Illinois, June 13

UIC News Release

University of Illinois at Chicago Office of Public Affairs (MC 288)
601 S. Morgan St., Chicago, IL 60607-7113
(312) 996-3456, www.news.uic.edu, twitter.com/uicnews

June 3, 2011
Sherri McGinnis González, (312) 996-8277, [email protected]

The University of Illinois Medical Center announces the grand opening of Children's Hospital University of Illinois -- a children's hospital within a hospital -- on June 13.

A dedication ceremony and tour of the Children's Hospital will begin at 1 p.m., 1740 W. Taylor St.

The 101-bed pediatric hospital includes 10 centers of excellence and provides general and pediatric subspecialty care to children throughout the state.

"The hospital will be true to its commitment to the children of Illinois to provide compassionate, high quality health care and be an acclaimed leader in advancing the art and science of medicine," says Dr. Usha Raj, physician-in-chief of Children's Hospital University of Illinois.

The Children's Hospital is comprised of 24 pediatric medical-surgical beds, 12 pediatric intensive care beds, and 10 pediatric step-down beds. The 55-bed neonatal intensive care unit includes 30 Level III NICU beds, the highest care designation awarded by the state.

"For more than 75 years, UIC pediatricians have been dedicated to addressing preventable childhood illnesses and complex childhood diseases through clinical care and research to improve the health status of all children," said Dr. Joe G.N. "Skip" Garcia, interim vice president for health affairs and vice chancellor for research. "Children's Hospital University of Illinois brings our dedicated staff and resources together under one umbrella to provide comprehensive, multidisciplinary care to children, particularly the underserved."

The hospital's ten centers of excellence are:

• Comprehensive Sickle Cell Center, the only state and federally funded program of its kind in Illinois treating children;

• "TIKES," Thriving Illinois Kids Engagement System , a medical home model of clinical care, education and research to improve the social capital of children in Illinois;

• Pediatric Renal Transplantation program, a team comprised of surgical transplantation and pediatric nephrologists;

• Center for Pediatric Lung Research, involved in basic and translational research in neonatal and pediatric lung diseases;

• Neonatology Intensive Care Unit, providing state-of-the-art care and as a Regional Perinatal Center;

• Long-term Survivors of Childhood Cancer Clinic and Follow-Up Program and site for the national Children's Oncology Group;

• Pediatric Diabetes Program, collaborating with federally-funded researchers and the division of endocrinology;

• Center for Neonatal and Pediatric Gastrointestinal Diseases, engaged in basic and translational research on the development and immunology of diseases such as neonatal necrotizing enterocolitis;

• Center for Pediatric Neurological and Developmental Disorders, focused on pediatric epilepsy, headache, narcolepsy, and developmental disorders;

• Pediatric Asthma, providing outstanding care to children with asthma, conducting clinical studies and partnering with the department of medicine in providing seamless care to young adults with asthma.

Hospital physicians provide care in adolescent medicine, allergy and immunology, cardiology, critical care, developmental pediatrics, endocrinology, gastroenterology, general pediatrics, genetics, hematology/oncology, infectious diseases, neonatology, nephrology, neurology, pulmonary, rheumatology; surgical services include general surgery, orthopedics, neurosurgery, cardiothoracic surgery, urology, ophthalmology; pediatric psychiatry and pediatric dentistry.

Children's Hospital University of Illinois recently was granted membership in the National Association of Children's Hospitals and Related Institutions, an organization of children's hospitals with 221 members in the United States, Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom, Italy, China, Mexico and Puerto Rico. NACHRI serves as a voice for health systems devoted to the well-being of America's 70 million children and their families to ensure children's access to health care and the continuing ability of children's hospitals to provide services needed by children.

For more information about Children's Hospital University of Illinois, visit www.uillinoismedcenter.org