Expanded Nemours/Alfred I duPont Hospital for Children Welcomes First Patients

WILMINGTON, Del. — After more than three years of construction and months of preparatory work, Nemours/Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children recently transitioned more than 100 patients from its existing building into the newly expanded portion of the hospital. Teams of Nemours’ associates systematically moved patients from the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, the Blood & Bone Marrow Transplant unit and all five inpatient general medical/surgical units into the 450,000-square-foot expansion over an eight-hour period. In addition, the hospital’s new emergency department recently opened to new patients, nearly doubling the hospital’s capacity to treat emergencies.

The new space was designed by families, for families and features all single-patient rooms, an expanded emergency department and PICU, the soaring five-story Anthony N. Fusco, Sr. Atrium and the state-of the-art Discovery Zone presented by DuPont.

Key Facts

• In August 2011, Nemours kicked off the 450,000-square-foot­ expansion of the Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children.
• This project was designed by families, for families and creates an environment that promotes healing and advances the quality of care provided at the hospital.
• The total project cost was approximately $270 million, all of which Nemours paid in full.
• The expanded hospital features 144 single-patient rooms with distinct zones in each room for the patient, family and caregiver.
• A 188-space underground parking garage offers easy access for families in a climate-controlled environment.
• The emergency department doubled in size, growing from 24 bays to 44 bays.
• The design emphasizes light and natural elements to improve healing. This includes the five- story Anthony N. Fusco Sr. Atrium and the rooftop healing garden.
• The Discovery Zone, presented by DuPont, is an interactive wall that uses the latest technology to create a living garden, complete with changing seasons and weather patterns.
• The existing hospital building was built in 1984 and will continue to serve as the hub for neonatal intensive care, cardiac care and ambulatory services.
• Construction by the numbers:
  • Number of micropiles drilled into the bedrock to support the expansion: 1,003
  • Tons of rock and other material excavated from the site: 113,000
  • Tons of structural steel included in the project: 2,534
  • Capacity of underground cisterns to control rainwater runoff: 220,000 gallons
• Skanska USA Building is the general contractor for the expansion.
• FKP Architects is the architect for the expansion.

Photo courtesy of Nemours.