Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital will open the doors to a new, freestanding facility on July 21 and to celebrate, the hospital will host a Community Dedication Ceremony & Celebration on July 16 that will feature a parade, bounce house, health fair and free food. The parade begins at 8:30 a.m. at North 35th Avenue and Taft Street and travels south to the hospital where the dedication ceremony will take place.
The $140 million facility, which has been under construction for the past two years across from its parent hospital, is a four-story, 160,000-square-foot building that showcases an overall “Power of Play” theme with each floor displaying themes of sports, arts, games or dreams. It is connected to Memorial Regional Hospital via an elevated walkway with a total of 204 licensed beds, six pediatric operating rooms, radiology services and an entire floor dedicated to pediatric oncology care.
“One of the keys to our success has been truly listening to our patients and their families and incorporating their feedback into our plans,” said Nina Beauchesne, administrator, Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital. “For example, our staff and members of the Family Advisory Council traveled throughout the country to visit other children’s hospitals so that we could make this new hospital the best possible facility in South Florida.”
Since its inception, Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital has evolved into a specialized tertiary care facility for children. From 2,000 admissions in 1992, the children’s hospital now handles more than 8,000 admissions and observation cases annually. Its service area has stretched from South Broward County to the Southeast U.S. region. Annually, the hospital’s Pediatric Transport Team provides transport to about 2,000 children in need of pediatric specialty care from other hospitals as close as Naples, Fla. to as far away as the Caribbean.
For more information about Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital, visit jdch.com.
