As Schneider Children's Hospital Celebrates Start of $144M Rebuilding Project, LI Family Celebrates Son's 1st Birthday, Thanks to Care in Neo-Natal ICU
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Neo-Natal ICU - to be expanded during first phase of hospital’s renovations – helped Babylon boy survive health problems that claimed the life of his twin brother Schneider Children’s Hospital’s physicians, administrators and supporters today celebrated the start of construction on the hospital’s $144 million rebuilding project -- and the first birthday of a Long Island boy who survived life-threatening health problems at birth, thanks to the hospital’s Neo-Natal Intensive Care Unit (NICU).
As part of the first phase of construction, $34 million is being invested in the hospital to add 5,900 square feet of space to the 44-bed NICU, which will result in 24 new beds for high-risk newborns -- increasing its capacity to 68 beds. On top of the new NICU will be 5,900 square feet of faculty office space. Also being built is a 20,000-square-foot, four-story, glass-enclosed atrium that will feature a playground for hospitalized children, including a performance stage, winter garden and areas dedicated to pet, music and art therapy. In addition, the hospital is renovating existing space to create an 8,500-square-foot pediatric ambulatory chemotherapy unit that will nearly double the size of what is currently available for children receiving outpatient cancer care, a 24-bed inpatient surgical unit and an outpatient radiology suite for children.
The first phase of construction at Schneider Children’s Hospital, scheduled for completion in 2008, was made possible by numerous donors, including Islandia, NY-based CA Inc. At a news conference today celebrating the start of construction, physicians, hospital administrators and supporters were joined by the family of Benny Zangri of Babylon, NY. Benny and his twin brother Joseph were born at another Long Island hospital on Aug. 22, 2006 -- about four months premature. On Sept. 10, 2006, they were transferred to the NICU at SCH, where they were treated by Dennis Davidson, MD, the hospital’s chief of neonatal medicine. Among other health problems, both boys had a heart condition, and needed antibiotics to fight off sepsis and oxygen to help them breathe. Sadly, Joseph died on Sept. 12, 2006. Benny stayed in the NICU at SCH for the next seven months, undergoing heart surgery to close a malfunctioning valve and ongoing treatment for chronic lung problems. Benny was finally allowed to go home on April 3 of this year. He still has electrical issues with his heart and requires oxygen every day, but he is off his feeding tube and doctors are encouraged by his progress. Benny’s mother, Karen, said that if was not for the team effort demonstrated by the NICU team, Benny’s story (and his belated birthday celebration today) might have had a far different outcome. In a testament to the hospital’s life-saving technologies and the expert care it provides to families throughout the New York metropolitan area, the NICU at SCH treated 1,461 patients in 2006 and Dr. Davidson anticipates that number will rise in the years ahead. “The needs of high-risk children and their families continue to grow,” he said. “Thanks to this expansion, we will be able to fulfill our mission to provide everyone who comes here with the most comprehensive neonatal services available.” In addition to CA Inc., which in 2005 pledged $12 million over 10 years to support the NICU and atrium projects, as well as the establishment of the CA Pediatric Wellness Center and a Center for Child and Family Traumatic Stress, other organizations supporting the expansion of the NICU and hematology/oncology programs include:
Phase II of the SCH rebuilding project, expected to cost $110 million, is scheduled to begin in 2008 and be completed in 2009. Plans include a four-story, 100,000-square-foot building that will house Long Island's first stand-alone pediatric emergency department, a state-of-the-art imaging center exclusively for children, a pediatric ICU with 25 beds, and a 25-bed medical unit with single rooms. The extensive, two-phase project marks the first major construction at SCH since its opening in 1983. Earlier this summer, the hospital was ranked among the top 25 in the nation in U.S. News & World Report’s “America’s Best Children’s Hospitals” issue. Contacts: Michelle Pinto/Terry Lynam (516) 465-2649/2640 Cell: (917) 327-3898 |
