VCU news

By Pamela DiSalvo Lepley
Division of University Relations

Children’s Hospital of Richmond and the Virginia Commonwealth University Health System have announced plans to create a full-service children’s hospital in Richmond.

The new hospital is anticipated to be a 75- to 100-bed facility that will be located at the VCU Medical Center on the block bordered by 10th and 11th and Marshall and Broad streets.

“The VCU Health System is delighted to partner with Children’s Hospital of Richmond to build a full-service children’s hospital that will be a major addition to meeting the health care needs of metropolitan Richmond,” said Eugene P. Trani, VCU president and president and chair of the VCU Health System. “It will be a major training center for the future pediatricians and pediatric sub-specialists in the commonwealth and will be a premiere pediatric research center, serving children of all economic backgrounds and groups.”

The cost of the project is estimated to be $100 million to $150 million. Children’s Hospital officials said they have initiated a Phase II, detailed financial study to further clarify and understand financing needs and structure for the new full-service hospital.

Children’s Hospital of Richmond will be responsible for all fund-raising activities associated with the new hospital and will build and own the new facility. The VCU Health System will operate it.

“Children’s Hospital of Richmond and the VCU Health System have established an important partnership to plan on building a new, comprehensive children’s hospital to serve Central Virginia and beyond,” said Dr. Sheldon M. Retchin, CEO of the VCU Health System and VCU vice president for Health Sciences. “This new facility will be a specialized regional center of care for children with complex conditions.

“Children’s hospitals nationally are major centers of training and research for children’s illnesses,” Retchin said. “We expect the children’s hospital formed by the partnership between VCU and Children’s Hospital of Richmond to make major contributions to the education of pediatric specialists for the region, and to conduct vital pediatric research for children’s illnesses.

”Like other children’s hospitals across the country, we expect to conduct research that leads to major breakthroughs in fetal surgery, immune diseases, cancer, birth defects and heart disease,” he said.

A full service children’s hospital in Richmond is the best solution for Virginia’s children, according to Children’s Hospital of Richmond officials.

“The powerful combination of a teaching hospital entity such as the VCU Health System and the expertise in rehabilitation and therapeutic pediatric services provided by Children’s Hospital will create the best array of complete and specialized care for children,” said Leslie Wyatt, president and CEO of Children’s Hospital of Richmond.

Officials anticipate completion of the construction of the new facility in 2011.