Five-year-old Marilyn Bergset is the first patient to check in at the new 10th floor clinic space at the Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt. (Photo by Susan Urmy)
Doctors’ Office Tower debuts new outpatient clinic space
The newly developed 10th floor of the Doctors’ Office Tower (DOT) at Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt opened its doors to patients Monday.
The 11-story Doctors’ Office Tower, adjoining Children’s Hospital, houses the outpatient pediatric clinics and serves as a base for many of the physicians. The additional 21,000-square-foot area provides more space for clinical services, and is the new home of the Pediatric Pulmonary, the Pediatric Nephrology, the Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition clinics as well as the Complex Aerodigestive Evaluation Team.
“I am delighted to see the much-anticipated completion of the new state-of-the-art clinic space,” said Luke Gregory, chief executive officer of Children’s Hospital. “The added space allows us to continue our commitment to grow our pediatric outpatient services for our community, and gives our physicians and staff the resources to provide unparalleled, quality care for children.”
The new space in the Doctors’ Office Tower continues the bright color scheme found on other floors. (Photo by Susan Urmy)
More than 197,000 children visited Children’s Hospital’s outpatient clinics in fiscal year 2011.
The $5 million project to build out the 10th floor shell space began in March 2011. Outpatient clinics on other floors of the Doctors’ Office Tower gain added space with the completion of this project. The clinics’ moves to the 10th floor create vacant space for future growth in Pediatric Plastic Surgery on the ninth floor. Renovations will also be made to the fifth floor to allow the Pediatric Heart Institute to expand.
In addition, the tower gets a much needed fifth elevator.
“We are so excited to see our last on-site, multidisciplinary space open,” said Meg Rush, M.D., acting chair of Vanderbilt’s Department of Pediatrics and chief of staff at Children’s Hospital.
“This expansion of our outpatient space enables growth of existing programs and also facilitates the development of cross-disciplinary initiatives that set our services apart as a provider of children’s health care.
“We look forward to the added flexibility and opportunity this space affords to the development and growth of our clinical services,” Rush said.
The newest floor nearly mirrors the bright, child-friendly décor of the other floors, with a few tweaks. The lobby area of each clinic has a more open, airy feel. On the walls outside each exam room, a cabinet holding gowns, gloves and masks allows staff quick, easy access to the protection gear.
“The Pulmonary group is thrilled with the move to this beautiful space, which facilitates our ability to better serve the needs of a diverse group of patients,” said Paul Moore, M.D., director of Pediatric Allergy, Immunology and Pulmonary Medicine. “Our expanded facilities include upgraded equipment for state-of-the-art pulmonary function testing.”
In April, Children’s Hospital’s second, larger construction project, a 30,000-square-foot, $30 million expansion, is also anticipated to open. The five-story addition, which sits atop the third floor surgery pre-op and recovery, will add 33 acute-care beds. Construction began in March 2011.