Officials from Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital recently celebrated the groundbreaking of its 521,000-square-foot expansion project in Palo Alto, Calif. The project was designed by Perkins + Will and Hammel, Green and Abrahamson, or HGA, and being built by DPR Construction. The $1.2-billion expansion also includes 3.5 acres of healing gardens and green space.
To increase its capacity for care and respond to community need, the Packard Children’s Hospital Expansion is doubling the existing hospital’s size and also adding 150 patient rooms, space for advanced diagnostic and treatment therapies, new patient care units and expanded support services. The growth allows the hospital to continue to offer the most advanced cures, treatments and technologies available, performed by the best teams in pediatric and obstetric medicine within a state-of-the-art facility designed to meet the unique needs of children and families. The expansion incorporates sustainable design practices including onsite water collection, native vegetation, wind turbines, EV charging stations and comprehensive recycling programs.
Full-scale mockups of the ORs and patient rooms were constructed offsite and assessed by representatives of those that would use them: surgeons, radiologists, nurses and parents. More than 800 people were involved in this process.
Medical staff collaborated with site preparation and construction teams to implement measures to ensure seamless continuity of care. This included dust control, infection control and special equipment to minimize vibrations and noise. As a result, disruption to patient care at Packard Children’s was minimal. The hospital has remained open and operating at full capacity throughout site preparation.
In winter 2013, structural steel will be placed and interior construction will start in 2014. The new building is slated to open its doors to patients in December 2016. For more information, visit growing.lpch.org.

