St. Christopher’s Hospital to Add 110 Beds

PHILADELPHIA — In an effort to enhance pediatric care in one of Philadelphia’s poorest urban areas, St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children will undergo a $110 million expansion, scheduled to begin this February. The main focus of the construction is the new four-floor, 135,000-square-foot Pediatric Critical Care Tower and 30,000-square-foot clinic, which will house the community’s Center for the Urban Child project that was created to help urban children address issues such as malnourishment and violence.

The Philadelphia Torcon project team will serve as the construction management firm on the update — as the company expands into the Philadelphia market — and Philadelphia-based EwingCole is the design architect.

The project will upgrade the ICU and NICU services in the Pediatric Critical Care Tower with 50 new critical care beds and 60 NICU beds. Plus, the expansion will include a new OR, as well as upgrade the parking facilities and other logistics around the campus.

The Center for the Urban Child will also see major improvements. The facility’s focus is to provide children with comprehensive medical treatment and services to give the patients and their families better access to health care, as well as improve the diagnosis of and care for diseases that impact the community’s children.

It will be built on two floors with almost a duplicate layout, according to Amy Novak senior project manager for Torcon. The flexibility of the space will allow for the clinic to use beds for a specific kind of care one day and then move them around to accommodate a different one the next day. More than 350 children visit these clinics each day, and the expansion will allow the hospital to accommodate up to 50 percent more.

“The flexibility of the space will really help to keep up with the changing needs of the community. It’s going to be more central to the campus, and because it’s a newer facility, that means newer technology,” Novak said. “There will be interactive-type displays in lobby and exam areas, which will provide educational material addressing a variety of topics for patients to benefit from while they wait for their appointment.”

As for the locals, Novak said they’re excited about the project. It will create jobs in the construction workforce, and after the facility opens, more than 300 new jobs will be added to the local economy. “The community will have top-of-the-line equipment, allowing for the hospital to attract the best doctors to the facility,” Novak said.

Right now, Torcon is currently seeking permit and zoning approvals, working very closely with local council members. The next challenge will be maintaining the use of the campus and safety of those visiting the campus.

Currently, St. Christopher’s Hospital for children has 189 beds and has been serving the children in the community for more than 130 years. It is one of the only pediatric hospitals in the country with two pediatric medical school affiliations: Drexel University College of Medicine and Temple University School of Medicine. Through research and innovation from the affiliate schools, the hospital hopes to continue to advance new pediatric treatments.