NewYork-Presbyterian Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital Opens New Emergency Department

NY-2NEW YORK — NewYork-Presbyterian Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital recently celebrated the ribbon cutting of the new Alexandra and Steven Cohen Children’s Emergency Department. The $50 million project was designed by Aedas in collaboration with associate architect Poltronieri Tang. It has a dedicated street entrance and resides within the hospital’s Children’s Central Building in New York City.

The new 25,000-square-foot facility replaces the hospital’s 5,800-square-foot pediatric emergency department and is equipped to care for 60,000 children annually to meet the increasing demand for pediatric emergency services in an expanding Washington Heights community.

One of only three Level I Pediatric Trauma Centers in New York State, the children’s emergency department provides the highest level of care for acutely ill and injured children from birth to age 20, while paying special attention to the comfort of young patients and their families.

Built with families in mind, the facility aims to lessen anxiety related to hospital visits. Instead of a large public waiting room, families will see a group of smaller seating nooks located close to treatment rooms with intimate family reading areas, Internet, a multimedia interactive wall and game tables.

Flooded with natural light and vibrant color, public areas and treatment rooms display vivid floor-to-ceiling illustrations from familiar children’s literature, and the entryway features colorful murals by internationally acclaimed artist Sol LeWitt.

choNY_newsletter2The children’s emergency department offers 26 private treatment rooms, two trauma rooms, four triage rooms and a nine-chair asthma treatment area and is equipped with its own onsite radiology capability, as well as a dedicated laboratory and pharmacy, eliminating the need for patient transport to other hospital departments. A mechanical system affords department-wide isolation and purge capabilities in the event of airborne catastrophic or infectious event.

David Williams, AIA, a partner at Aedas states, “Our holistic approach to this facility has set a new standard for pediatric planning and care in New York City. The new children’s emergency department aligns with the hospital’s mission to offer world-class treatment for all children.”

Specific design attention has been paid to the scale of the new Cohen Children’s Emergency Department, ensuring an environment that is intimate and nurturing to the young patients it serves. The design of the space improves flow of patients through the department and reduces wait times. The emergency department team will greet families upon arrival and guide patients to the appropriate triage area to determine the severity of the condition and prioritize treatment while a special Fast Track area will speed treatment for less-urgent conditions.

“Families have access to this beautiful, state-of-the-art facility whenever their child needs emergency care, day or night,” says Dr. Herbert Pardes, president and CEO of NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital.

Prior to completing the design for the facility, Aedas, in collaboration with associate architect Poltronieri Tang, completed a feasibility study and program development for the new Alexandra and Steven Cohen Children’s Emergency Department. The facility broke ground in 2009.

About Aedas

Aedas, the world’s largest privately owned design practice, provides consultancy services in architecture, interior design, master planning, landscape, urban design and building consultancy in the Americas, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. Previously know in the Americas as Davis Brody Bond Aedas, the firm designed the in-patient facility for NewYork-Presbyterian Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital in 2003. Among its current commissions in New York are the National September 11 Memorial Museum at the World Trade Center, Columbia University’s Manhattanville Expansion, and The Frick Collection’s Portico for Decorative Arts and Sculpture

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Posted July 5, 2011

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