In just two months, the new Penn State Hershey Children's Hospital will begin providing comprehensive patient and family centered care to the kids. Tuesday morning the $206 million facility was dedicated.
Doctors and nurses, legislators and donors, patients and families were in attendance. Work began in 2009. The six floors of the children's hospital have 263,000 square feet of space focused on the unique needs of sick children and their families.
There are five operating suites, outpatient cancer pavilion, pediatric radiology unit. All rooms are private and have space for parents to spend nights with their child.
“This takes pediatric care, the care of our children into the future in ways people in this region haven’t had an opportunity to experience ever before,” explained Harold Paz, CEO of the Penn State Hershey Medical Center.
But it was the story of 11-year-old Claire Brobson of Hershey that was most meaningful.
In December of 2007 she was brought to Hershey’s current children’s hospital with a sore wrist. She was a sick little girl diagnosed with Leukemia. Following treatment, she’s been cancer free for three years.
Tuesday, she was thinking about the young patients who will be treated here.
“I’m thinking how much fun it is to see the whole thing and just thinking about the children who are going to be coming and what they’re going to think,” Brobson exclaimed.
And how did Clair view her years of treatment?
“While it was usually a very harrowing experience for us as parents, Claire used to look at coming to the hospital as a little mini-vacation," explained her mother, Lauren Brobson. "She liked having access to video libraries, video games, a game room. Just the opportunity to forget about everything for a little while.”
Philanthropic gifts of more than $75 million dollars helped pay for the building. Penn State’s “Thon”, gave $10 million, and Highmark made a $25 million commitment.
People often question the need for more hospitals. But when an 11-year-old girl named Claire tells you how the doctors and staff here saved her life, the need for this facility, the care and research is evident.
Doctors and nurses, legislators and donors, patients and families were in attendance. Work began in 2009. The six floors of the children's hospital have 263,000 square feet of space focused on the unique needs of sick children and their families.
There are five operating suites, outpatient cancer pavilion, pediatric radiology unit. All rooms are private and have space for parents to spend nights with their child.
“This takes pediatric care, the care of our children into the future in ways people in this region haven’t had an opportunity to experience ever before,” explained Harold Paz, CEO of the Penn State Hershey Medical Center.
But it was the story of 11-year-old Claire Brobson of Hershey that was most meaningful.
In December of 2007 she was brought to Hershey’s current children’s hospital with a sore wrist. She was a sick little girl diagnosed with Leukemia. Following treatment, she’s been cancer free for three years.
Tuesday, she was thinking about the young patients who will be treated here.
“I’m thinking how much fun it is to see the whole thing and just thinking about the children who are going to be coming and what they’re going to think,” Brobson exclaimed.
And how did Clair view her years of treatment?
“While it was usually a very harrowing experience for us as parents, Claire used to look at coming to the hospital as a little mini-vacation," explained her mother, Lauren Brobson. "She liked having access to video libraries, video games, a game room. Just the opportunity to forget about everything for a little while.”
Philanthropic gifts of more than $75 million dollars helped pay for the building. Penn State’s “Thon”, gave $10 million, and Highmark made a $25 million commitment.
People often question the need for more hospitals. But when an 11-year-old girl named Claire tells you how the doctors and staff here saved her life, the need for this facility, the care and research is evident.