Beginning in May, Baptist team members will have the opportunity to be part of an exciting campaign destined to change the pediatric health care landscape in the region, improving children’s health for generations to come.
Baptist leadership, along with the Baptist Foundation, will lead a campaign to raise $4 million to build a Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) on the second floor of the Spence and Becky Wilson Baptist Children’s Hospital. The new PICU will complement the emergency department and inpatient services, neonatal intensive care and transport services already available at the hospital.
On May 6, Baptist leadership invites all Baptist team members to tour a simulated PICU at the Spence and Becky Wilson Baptist Children’s Hospital. Team members will have the chance to see the PICU suite and the equipment involved in building it, as well as the Pediatric ED and PD’s Perch. Tours will be available from 11 a.m. – 1 p.m. and from 4 p.m. – 6 p.m. Free food will be served, and a special guest will be present.
For any parent, facing a child’s unexpected illness or injury can be one of life’s most frightening moments. Dedicated to building a PICU designed to keep families together and strengthen the continuum of care, Baptist is also responding to the increasing health care needs of children who face adult illnesses due to rampant obesity. Providers also treat everything from minor emergencies to full resuscitations, respiratory illnesses, seizure disorders, orthopedic injuries, concussions, and abdominal disorders.
Since the 2015 opening of the pediatric emergency department at the Spence and Becky Wilson Baptist Children’s Hospital, Baptist team members have been overwhelmed by the strong response in the community.
Before opening, Baptist expected to treat 18 children per day. By February 2016, the pediatric ED treated more than 60 children on average per day and saw a high of 111 patients in one day.
“The pediatric emergency department is one of the cornerstones of all good children’s hospitals. Ours is a front door for our community, and it’s very convenient. We can routinely get a child in and out in less than two hours, something few other hospitals can match. We do ordinary things, and occasionally the extraordinary, exceptionally well,” said Kevin Hammeran, CEO and administrator of the Baptist Women’s Hospital and Spence and Becky Wilson Baptist Children’s Hospital.
Designed with families in mind, the new PICU will allow parents to be more present. “We are building this PICU with the mission of keeping families together. It will be the only ICU where parents can stay with their child,” said Yvette DeVaughn, nurse manager of pediatrics.
Hammeran points out that the PICU is the second cornerstone of any children’s hospital.
“It allows us to admit a child with more serious conditions. It offers the family hope during their most anxious moments. And, it offers the pediatrician confidence that the child they’ve referred is safe in the hands of experienced caregivers capable of preventing, and if necessary, responding to any unexpected emergency.”
The launch begins on Mother’s Day weekend as many families celebrate and honor the women in their lives. Beverly Jordan, Baptist’s vice president/chief information and transformation officer, will co-chair the fundraising campaign with Kyle Armstrong, CEO/administrator of Baptist Collierville.
“As a mother, grandmother and Baptist employee since 1977, I am truly grateful for our pediatrics services to expand care for our Baptist families and the extended communities we serve. I am excited to provide an opportunity for myself and others to support this program expansion through donations to this building campaign. This can be money or PTO–the Foundation makes it easy to give! Think about someone you can honor or memorialize with these donations–children, moms, grandmothers, colleagues. Be a part of this lasting legacy that provides compassionate care for our children.”