How the Oishei Children’s Hospital became the champ of children’s care

With a mission to advance the health of the community, Kaleida Health’s expert, compassionate healthcare professionals are committed to providing the best possible outcomes and experience for more than one million sick or injured patients each year.

As the largest healthcare provider in Western New York, Kaleida Health serves the area's eight counties through its hospitals – Buffalo General Medical Center/Gates Vascular Institute, DeGraff Memorial Hospital, Millard Fillmore Suburban Hospital, and Women & Children's Hospital of Buffalo – two long-term care facilities, more than 80 outpatient clinics and home health care through the Visiting Nursing Association of Western New York, Inc.

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For more than 120 years, Women & Children’s Hospital of Buffalo has been the regional center for comprehensive, specialized pediatric and women’s health services.

In an effort to streamline patient care, expand services and treat more patients in an ambulatory setting, Kaleida Health embarked on the journey of building the new John R. Oishei Children’s Hospital on the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus.

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Mickey Mariacher, Director of Construction Management, manages the day-to-day construction operations. As the contact person representing the new hospital for all matters with contractors and the architect, Mariacher discussed the hospital’s vision, the challenges of building in a weather-difficult region and the impact one hospital will have on Western New York and beyond.

The vision

“In order to provide the best care, it was deemed necessary to build a completely new building,” Mariacher said as she watched a 200-foot crane lift a piece of steel during the interview. “The previous facility was an aging conglomeration of buildings that were assembled over the years, and as such, there were some convoluted hallways and difficulty navigating from one building to another. In this new building, we were able to get all of the services that we had in the 600,000 square foot Women & Children’s Hospital of Buffalo to fit economically and efficiently into the new hospital’s 425,000 square feet.”

Discussions for a new hospital began back in 2012, and the design process took nearly two years. A historic $10 million donation from the John R. Oishei Foundation was announced at the new hospital’s groundbreaking ceremony in August 2014. In line with its mission to serve as a catalyst for change in the region, The John R. Oishei Foundation chose to become the lead supporter of the hospital to ensure families continued to have immediate access to specialized health services. Since then, the hospital has received nearly $50 million in funds.

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Following the groundbreaking, the team for Turner Construction Company began the Building Information Modeling (BIM) process, which used a 3D software program to construct the building in an effort to avoid potential clashes and facilitates coordination between all disciplines before they step foot on the site. Construction of the hospital remains on schedule, with doors set to open in late 2017.

“Our vision for the new hospital is to be the innovator, the highest quality, highest value provider and partner, and the regional referral center for women and children’s health care,” said Mariacher.

The 12-floor, 183-bed, free-standing facility will be adjacent to the University of Buffalo School of Medicine and will offer hands-on experience for medical students. An emergency room will be equipped with four trauma rooms. A neonatal intensive care unit will provide around-the-clock support for the sickest children, and dedicated labor and delivery rooms will be designed to offer the best care possible.

With overarching design elements intended to be “kid-friendly,” the hospital will encompass light and open spaces, greenery inside and outside the building...Click here to read the entire story on Healthcare Global!

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