CHOP’s New Buerger Center for Advanced Pediatric Care Opens

PHILADELPHIA, Pa. — When The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia opened its doors at the new Buerger Center for Advanced Pediatric Care on Monday, July 27, it heralded a new era in how pediatric medical facilities care for patients and their families.

Located on Civic Center Boulevard, just across from the main hospital, the Buerger Center is a major part of the newly named Raymond G. Perelman Campus, and an enduring symbol of the institution’s 160th year.

Making the medical experience fun for children while efficient and convenient for families was at the center of planning for the new facility. Spacious waiting rooms for families are filled with natural light and dotted with “Wait, Play, Learn” areas to provide patients and their siblings a venue for educational toys and games. A relaxing 14,000-square-foot roof garden will afford space for recreation, as well as rehabilitation sessions, while a 2.6-acre landscaped outdoor plaza will offer a safe open area for play, entertainment and emotional recharging. Clinical areas are co-located for efficient travel within the center and advanced electronic systems will reduce wait times for appointments and expedite registration and checkout, while fully integrated electronic health records will bring the facility closer to a paperless system.

Easily distinguishable from the neighboring buildings, the Buerger Center for Advanced Pediatric Care boasts a unique architecture; 12 stories high, with a curving façade boasting primary colors and a glass-lined exterior admitting abundant natural light. Its most distinctive qualities, however, include a multitude of features designed to foster a relaxing and healing environment for children and families. One example is the 14,000-square-foot roof garden with shade arbors, a fountain and water channel, a play area and a running path.

Other notable features include a physical therapy gym with a two-story climbing wall; sub-areas for different age and developmental levels; an outdoor dining terrace adjacent to a 2.6-acre landscaped plaza with a Children’s Discovery Garden and a multitude of interactive play installations, geared to a range of ages, in the waiting areas of each clinical department.

There are family lactation rooms and a rehab kitchen for patients to practice activities of daily living. There’s even a mock scanner room, where children can practice lying motionless during a noisy MRI session.

Other building features, such as five levels of underground parking and electronic check-in and preregistration areas on each floor, will streamline the registration process and result in shorter wait times for families. These design features will enable CHOP to accommodate over 200,000 outpatient appointments annually. The center encompasses 700,000 square feet, with the ability to add another 175,000 square feet, if needed in the future.

The first clinical departments to occupy the new center will be orthopedics, oncology, radiology and otolaryngology, with other subspecialties to follow.

Buerger Center for Advanced Pediatric Care Design and Project Team

Principal architect: FKP Architects
Building Exterior and Public Spaces: Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects
Central Utility Plant: Ballinger
Landscape: Nelson Byrd Woltz Landscape Architects
MEP Engineer: Bard, Rao + Athanas Consulting Engineers, LLC
Structural Engineer: LeMessurier Consultants
Civil Engineer: Pennoni Associates, Inc.
Construction Manager: Turner Construction Company

Photo courtesy of PRNewsFoto/CHOP.