Thousands tour new $360 million University of Iowa Children’s Hospital

IOWA CITY - With binkie hidden behind a small surgical mask, Gavin Mower pointed out the window of one of 130 patient rooms in the new University of Iowa Stead Family Children's Hospital.

'He's 18 months,” Amanda Paulsen, 35, of Davenport, said Saturday morning while touring the new $360 million facility - along with thousands of others.

'So he'll be here, admitted to this hospital, for the rest of his life,” she said, while holding Gavin in a carrier on her chest and pushing an IV pole attached to him. 'He's not even going to know the old hospital. He's just going to think this is the only thing there ever was.”

Born with cystic fibrosis, Gavin has spent much of his 18 months on the university campus.

'It's part of life - it's what he knows,” Paulsen said. 'But the funness, the newness, the colors. In the elevator we rode up, he was looking at the colors already.”

'Puppy,” chirped Gavin's tiny muffled voice - referencing a decoration he saw in the lobby.

'Oh yeah, there were puppies downstairs,” Paulsen affirmed.

Four years ago, crews broke ground on the 507,000-square-foot facility rising 14 stories - including two underground and four on top with an idyllic view into neighboring Kinnick Stadium. And over the weekend thousands of members of the public - including employees, patients and families - got their first look at the state-of-the-art center equipped with technology and physicians capable of treating the sickest kids in Iowa, the nation and the world.

Tours for the general public continue today from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

'It's crazy,” Paulsen said. 'We've been watching it from when they first dug the dirt up, to the parking ramps, to putting windows in, to columns.”

Before doors even opened at 8 a.m. Saturday, eager oglers were lined up outside the expansive glass entry, said Scott Turner, co-chief operating officer and executive director of the Children's Hospital. As guests poured in - many with kids in tow - families posed for pictures with Herky and other childhood favorites like Curious George.

They lined up for face painting, grabbed snacks and climbed on beams like those holding the hospital up. Visitors were allowed to tour the upper level and gaze down on the Hawkeye football field; one of the lower levels, featuring a first-of-its-kind in the United States CT scanner capable of quicker imaging using less radiation; and the neonatal intensive care unit, which boasts among the highest survival rates in the nation.

'These seats are better than the box seats,” one onlooker said from the top floor.

'I've been hearing about this for four years, so I'm glad we're finally getting to see it - and hope we never have to use it,” said Jessica Trout, of Marion, whose husband Dennis Trout conducted electrical and plumbing estimates for the hospital.

In addition to 134 patient beds in the new hospital - most of which will be in single rooms - another 49 are to remain dedicated to neonatal patients on the main campus, and Turner said the hospital expects to have all 183 beds ready to go on Day 1 - Dec. 10.

Administrators have run a 'table top” exercise to map out the single-day move from the main campus. Hundreds of staff are to participate in a dry run Nov. 19, Turner said. Kayla Kenady, a staff nurse in the pediatric inpatient unit, said Saturday while touring the new digs for the first time that the transition can't come soon enough.

'I am thrilled - beyond excited,” she said. 'We've been looking forward to this day pretty much since I started my job.”

That was more than a year ago, and Kenady said one of the biggest issues in the current location is lack of space. High census numbers can mean crowded, double rooms. And, Kenady said, that can get 'really challenging.”

'For both the family, the patient, even nursing,” she said. 'Everyone likes to have their own space and their privacy. So having single rooms is going to be one of the biggest changes that I think is going to make a huge difference.”

While glancing around at the amenities, family after family noted the distractions - fish tanks, wall art, a rainbow of lights everywhere you turn. When it's officially open, the hospital is to feature a library, video game center, space for movies and other amenities.

And, with the harsh realities some kids and families are to be facing there, that can make all the difference.

'I was telling my mom, we went to Disney and stayed at the ‘Art of Animation,' and it reminds me a lot of this lobby,” UI Hospitals and Clinics staffer Jenna Weimer said Saturday, noting the importance of the atmosphere. 'If they do have to come, it's not a scary place.”

If You Go

' What: University of Iowa Stead Family Children's Hospital Community Open House

' When: Public tour are from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. today

' Where: 200 Hawkins Drive, Iowa City

' Activities: Visitors can go on self-guided tours of the first floor, some patient-care areas and the 12th floor. Light refreshments are to be served.

' Parking: Free parking is available in ramps 1, 2, 3 and 4, as well as lots 43, 46, 75 and 49.

' Info: For more information, including driving directions, map and how to find overnight accommodations, visit hournewhospital.com/.