First look at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta’s massive new hospital

“Even though we are smack in the middle of the city, what makes this hospital so unique in my mind is that it combines the ability to recruit the best people in the country (to work here), but it also gives us the ability to give children an environment where they can just heal,” said Dr. Lucky Jain, who is the pediatrician in chief at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta.

The hospital cost $1.5 billion. Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation donated $200 million toward the hospital, the largest donation in Children’s history.

The 446 beds at Arthur M. Blank Hospital is 116 more beds than the number of beds at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta Egleston Hospital. All clinical services currently offered at Egleston, which is located about 5 miles away in a congested area near Emory University, will move to the new hospital when it opens on Sept. 29. The future plans for the Egleston hospital building have not yet been decided, according to hospital representatives.

Located at the northeastern corner of North Druid Hills and I-85 in Brookhaven, the new hospital is also more accessible to families in metro Atlanta and throughout the state, according to the hospital system.

The new hospital is part of a campus spanning 76 acres, and the campus also includes the Center for Advanced Pediatrics, its outpatient, non-emergency facility, and its Support Center, which houses its administrative offices.

The hospital has plenty of space for families to stay in the hospital rooms with their children. “We also wanted a space in every room for parents so they could stay with their child the entire stay. Not a recliner but a space where they have their own bed, their own TV, their own work space so they can work remotely,” Jain said.

Rooms are larger with sleeper sofas, a built-in desk, and curtains that can separate the space within the hospital room for added privacy. Every floor has washers and dryers, family lounges and kitchenettes to make it more convenient for families, some of whom are spending weeks, even months at the hospital with their children undergoing treatment.

There are also game rooms, an outdoor basketball court, walking trails and Seacrest Studios, a broadcast media center donated by Atlanta’s Ryan Seacrest.

These use of beds at the new hospital can be flexible, which is key, especially during surges of illnesses, which has overwhelmed pediatric hospitals in recent years.

“Our Board of Trustees was so wise in helping us plan for extra space for that need if it were to arise,” said Dr. James Fortenberry, chief medical officer for Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. “What’s going to happen with the viral surges? Last year, RSV hit early, and I know it was a stress on families. You can imagine having a child and having to say, ‘I’m sorry we have to drive you to Birmingham by ambulance because that’s the closest bed (available).”

The emergency room will cover 70,000 square feet — three times the size of the ER at Egleston, which is currently the only Level 1 pediatric trauma center in the state. Once Arthur M. Blank Hospital opens, it will retain the same Level 1 designation that means a hospital is capable of providing the highest level of care to patients suffering from severe and life-threatening injuries. These include severe car accidents, gunshot wounds and major falls.

Inside the Blank Hospital, the Aflac Cancer and Blood Disorders Center will consolidate care for children with cancer. The hospital will designate 98 patient beds or about 20% of all rooms, for cancer care. The other hospitals in the system — including Scottish Rite Hospital in Sandy Springs and Children’s Hughes Spalding Hospital in downtown Atlanta — will continue to provide emergency pediatric oncology care. Hughes Spalding will also continue to offer care for patients with sickle cell disease.

The new hospital will also allow Children’s to expand their clinical trials and allow for more trials to be available on-site. For instance, the hospital will have the ability to manufacture cells there for a cutting-edge immunotherapy known as CAR-T cell therapy, used to treat some blood cancers.

The planning process for this hospital has been in the works for several years and they broke ground February 2020.

“Arthur M Blank Hospital is more than a new facility providing essential capacity to serve all the kids who need us,” said Donna Hyland, president and CEO of Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta.”It is also a giant leap forward for Georgia’s kids. It is an open door to progress and discovery that will help transform pediatric care nationally. It is a beacon of hope for healthier children.”

Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta administrators have decided to move all patients from Egleston Hospital on Sept. 29, starting at 7 a.m. with the patients and staff from the emergency room first to make the move. It is estimated to take about 10 hours and will require the use of 56 ambulances and help from several police departments.