The Herman & Walter Samuelson Children’s Hospital at Sinai is a center of excellence focused on the care and treatment of children. The goal of this project is to provide a state-of-the-art environment that is both conducive to healing for pediatric patients and encourages family participation in their care. This comprehensive renovation and expansion of the hospital’s pediatric program includes a pediatric inpatient unit, as well as a new lobby that serves as the primary access for the existing labor and delivery unit.
Family Centered Care (FCC), the core concept of which this expansion is based upon, is the recognition that family is the constant in a child’s life. Thus, in addition to the importance of attending to the medical and physical comfort of pediatric patients, the design takes into consideration the essential role that parents and family members play in the emotional and psychological well-being of patients and its significant impact on health outcomes.
For this reason, FCC is built on partnerships between families and health professionals during and after a child is treated for a diagnosed illness. The allowance of space for private single-occupancy rooms will enable parents to stay with their children throughout their hospital stay, providing important solace and security to children during their crucial recovery period.
The Children’s Hospital was designed to match the requirements of a LEED Silver rating. It is the first building project at Sinai to have achieved this level of sustainability. A green roof was installed in multiple locations to reduce the heat island effect and flow of stormwater. The energy use was designed for 16% savings over the baseline. Water systems were designed with a 20% reduction in water flow. An intensive effort was made to reduce or eliminate any toxic materials used in the construction including paints, sealants, millwork substrates, doors, insulation, flooring, wall protection and furniture. Materials used for construction were at least 10% recycled and 20% were obtained from regional sources.
