January 23, 2007
New Approach, Familiar Address: Children's Opens New Outpatient Care Facility
Convenient access to care in Dallas location a boon for parents
DALLAS, TX – Jan. 23, 2007 – Today, Jo Ellen Muse came to the Children's Medical Center Ambulatory Care Pavilion in Dallas to cut the ribbon on the new facility, the 94-year-old hospital's answer to a growing consumer demand for convenient access to top-notch medical care. Her mom parked the family car in a flat lot directly in front of the building on the access road to I-35 and Motor Street and, beneath a playfully elegant purple exterior, Jo Ellen walked in and began her first visit to a facility that will see hundreds of thousands of patient visits in its first year.
Today, patients and officials at Children's Medical Center cut the ribbon to mark the official grand opening of the Children's Medical Center Ambulatory Care Pavilion in Dallas. The facility focuses on outpatient care, for which the hospital saw more than 200,000 visits in the past year. The six-floor, 130,000-square-foot Pavilion houses more than 140 exam rooms, a large physical/occupational therapy gym and six audiology booths. The clinical space has been designed using a "neighborhood" concept, placing services around patient care needs.
"This space will allow us to cluster outpatient services, thus alleviating stress for our patients," said Chris Dougherty, vice president of ambulatory services. "Our ultimate goal is to make the outpatient experience the most positive it can be for patients and their families."
The clustering of outpatient services into clinical neighborhoods is designed for patients and their families, providing convenient, easy access to quality care. By providing all needed aspects of outpatient care in one building, the amount of time spent waiting or traveling will be minimized for patients. For example, an orthopedics patient might also need to visit radiology, rheumatology, neurology, rehabilitation medicine, adaptive seating, physical therapy and occupational therapy – needs that will be met in one space. Each patient will receive a custom itinerary before arriving at the Pavilion, informing the family of appointment times and locations.
Physicians at the Dallas Pavilion are members of the Children's medical staff, and are pediatric subspecialists on the faculty of The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, one of the nation's top-ranked medical schools. Children's offers an extension of the clinical expertise and constant pursuit of new knowledge that comes directly from the scientists' bench at UT Southwestern to the care a child receives at Children's.
Annually, Children's sees more than 216,000 outpatient care patient visits. Children's has invested more than $27 million in the Dallas Pavilion, including equipment and land acquisition.
With the continued growth of the pediatric population in North Texas, Children's is expanding its services to reach a greater number of patients. In addition to the Dallas Pavilion, the hospital is adding a third tower to the main Dallas campus, which will expand the main hospital by more than 300,000 square feet and adding more clinical space and patient beds, and new patient amenities such as landscaping, outdoor dining areas and a new gift shop. A new front entrance to Children's will face Motor Street and allow for improved ingress and egress to the hospital. Children's also is expanding its reach north with the opening of Children's Medical Center Legacy in Plano in 2008. When opened, Children's Legacy will serve the need for quality pediatric care in the five-county area north of Dallas as the only academically affiliated pediatric hospital outside of Children's Dallas.
Children's enjoys a stellar reputation as one of the finest pediatric facilities in the United States. The Joint Commission awarded Children's an "outstanding" ranking, and both U.S.News & World Report and Child magazines have named Children's as one of the nation's top pediatric providers. In 2006, the Dallas Business Journal recognized Children's as a "Best Place to Work." Children's makes life better for the patients it sees during more than 340,000 visits each year.