Mercy breaks ground on Children's Hospital renovations

Mercy officials yesterday broke ground on the renovation and redesign of Mercy Children's Hospital Springfield.

The purpose of the project is to renovate Mercy Hospital Springfield's east wing to bring the majority of its Children's Hospital services under one roof.

Phase I of the renovation includes:

• exterior façade updates;
• new windows and curtain wall systems;
• new mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems;
• a covered patient drop-off and pick-up location;
• a two-story patient access entrance;
• a new patient discharge elevator; and
• two children's courtyards on the north and south sides of the hospital.

Mercy Hospital Springfield's Jane Pitt Pediatric Cancer Center, which houses the hospital's St. Jude affiliate clinic, is relocating to the first floor of the renovated Children's Hospital. The first floor also would include a food service area, retail space, a resource area with computer stations, and the Teddy Bear Club, which features classrooms and support services for pregnant women, according to the release.

The first floor is expected to be completed by the end of the year. Springfield's second Ronald McDonald House, which is being constructed on the sixth floor of the Children's Hospital, is expected to open in the fall. The second floor, which will be used for pediatric outpatient testing and treatment, and child life and support services, is expected to be completed in spring 2013.

Plans for the remaining floors are still being developed, according to the release, which notes the Children's Hospital also would include Mercy’s Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, its pediatric intensive care unit, its advanced pediatric trauma center and its dedicated burn unit.