At home our children's rooms are personal spaces where they feel comfortable and safe.  Designing the inpatient rooms for the new Helen DeVos Children's Hospital was motivated by this ideal. Our employees know that when children come to the hospital they bring family with them, parents, siblings, sometimes grandparents. So our first goal was to make the patient rooms large enough to accommodate a child's family while also providing efficient space for caregivers to treat the child.

Every child will have a spacious (330 square feet) private room in which two parents may stay overnight on a comfortable convertible sofa bed. There is a private bathroom with tub and shower. The rooms include a small refrigerator and a flat screen TV with movies on demand connected to a video gaming system.

We involved families in the design of the rooms and asked what amenities were important. Our Family-Centered Care Advisory Council played an important role and their advice was invaluable. Early on in the construction process, mock patient rooms were built in the basement level so caregivers and families could check them out. Right away parents commented that the bathrooms needed a tub, not just a shower, especially for younger children. So that change was made.

Parents told us that small comforts would mean a lot to help relieve the stress of their child being sick. Having a meal together in the child's room, or even having a family kitchen space in the hospital would allow families to keep comfortable rituals. Having laundry facilities, wireless internet, private consultation rooms, and even quiet spaces for a parent to relax were all suggestions that have been implemented.

During one of the art making sessions at LaFontsee Galleries my kids were asked to draw what they imagined a child's hospital room might look like. My daughter Sofina drew herself in the bed, surrounded by four chairs. She explained that the chairs were for our family to sit in and visit with her, which she remembered from her hospitalization after heart surgery.

It was fun during community day tours to hear comments from kids and parents that the patient rooms were above and beyond expectations. 

If you visited us during community day, what did you think of the patient rooms?  I would love to hear your thoughts.

Earlier this summer I wrote about my son Lucas breaking his arm in a fall from the monkey bars. We learned a lesson about pre-hospital emergency care for children, and in particular, about the value of having specialists trained in pediatric radiology perform the X-rays and read and interpret the results.

My friend, pediatric radiologist Brad Betz, MD, explains that because kid's bodies are still growing and developing it has an impact on what he and his colleagues look for when reading an X-ray.

Fractures may involve the growth plates in a child's bone. Correct diagnosis will guide the pediatric orthopaedic surgeon in setting the bone properly so the bone will continue to grow normally.

Equally important in a child's X-ray exam is the amount of radiation, according to Dr. Betz. Children's bodies need to have the lowest possible dose of radiation from an X-ray or other diagnostic exam. The radiology equipment used at Helen DeVos Children's Hospital is state-of-the-art, including two CT scanners and two magnetic resonance imagers. Dr. Betz says, "our radiation doses have always been among the lowest of all children's hospitals."

The experience of a child having a diagnostic radiology exam is also something the pediatric radiology team takes very seriously, because they want to make it as pleasant as possible. For radiology exams that take a long time and require the child to lie very still, sometimes radiology works closely with pediatric sedation services to administer an appropriate dose of anesthesia or conscious sedation.

Child life services also has dedicated specialists who work in radiology to help prepare children for what to expect. They use medical play, and even guided imagery or video goggles to occupy the child during the exam, and often make it possible for the child to have the exam without sedation.

As a mom I take comfort in knowing that specialists like Dr. Betz and his radiology team are doing the utmost to provide the best and safest care for my child.

We did it!

As you can imagine, the past few days since 1-11-11 have been pretty busy so I have not had time to bring you up to date on how well  things are going in the new Helen DeVos Children's Hospital.

It is amazing to walk the halls and see that the work of healing has begun.

After many months when the building had only construction workers and other adults inside, now there are kids everywhere and it feels so good to see them here. We all feel very proud.

In the lobby the "PlayMotion" wall is just as captivating as we thought it would be (okay, we adults already proved that before we even opened). Funny, yesterday to hear one observer say:  "Are those real kids or are they actors, this looks like a commercial for your children's hospital watching those kids play at that wall."

For me, seeing families together in the spacious patient rooms, and a dad bringing pizza from the Balk Cafe up to his son's room, and hearing the positive comments is just so rewarding.

A colleague relayed this story about a friend he saw in the cafeteria waiting for his son's diagnostic procedure to be done. The gentleman is a hotel executive and he commented, "When I came to your welcome desk I was treated like a guest in my own hotel. Tell everyone to keep up the good work."

Already the new children's hospital is busy with patients, in fact, we have nearly a "full house."  All six operating rooms are in use, the sedation and radiology areas are busy, and the emergency department is running at full throttle.

The positive media coverage has made everyone feel very good knowing the impact we are having on children and their families.

This week we become fully operational when we open the 10^th floor hematology/oncology infusion center and the outpatient cardiology center.

I wonder what you are hearing about the new Helen DeVos Children's  Hospital?  What experiences do you have to share.?

Day one, the move is done. Random thoughts and observations, remember I have been here since 4 a.m.

Eighty two patients were successfully moved into the new Helen DeVos Children's Hospital by 2:33 p.m. The business of healing has begun.

Seven scheduled surgeries were completed and three additional cases were added for a total of 10 so we opened a third operating room.

After 8 patients were moved from the old pediatric critical care unit, we admitted 5 new patients, one of whom was airlifted here on AeroMed at 4 a.m.

One patient moving from 9 Center to 6 arrived in her room at 1:11 p.m. on 1-11-11 which brought smiles to all of us in the Command Center.

Tara Werkhoven, a friend from the Helen DeVos Children's Hospital Foundation, came through the lobby with the news that her 8 year-old-nephew had just been treated in the emergency department.  Tara said the boy  had injured his knee playing soccer in school, and was brought to the new ED for X-rays. "They gave him a teddy bear and a "What Makes You Happy" book, Tara said smiling. "X-rays were negative, it was just a bad sprain."

We are hearing that some children are still showing up at the former ED at Butterworth Hospital. They are being assessed and stabilized and we are taking them through Butterworth to the new children's ED.

Our friends in the Balk Cafe made 217 pizzas today that were delivered to employees working throughout the children's hospital.

Check out this  beautiful photo of the new HDVCH from Carl Turek of the pre-dawn sky on 1-11-11.

One of our pediatric outpatient phlebotomists was in the lobby for the first time today, she kept wiping away tears, so emotionally overwhelmed at how beautiful the new building is, and how much fun it will be for patients.

1-11-11 is here and our patients are on the move into the new Helen DeVos Children's Hospital. It is very exciting and rewarding for all of us who have been here since 4 a.m.

I am sitting in the Command Post monitoring the patient move.  We have a large flat screen monitor up on the wall which shows us exactly where each patient is at any given time.  Our sending and receiving coordinators are calling in each time they are ready to send a patient along the tour route, when they reach the mid-way point and when they are received in the new building.  

It's been really cute to hear some of the commentary that has come over the radio airways.  One message that came through was, "we have patient #5 passing the mid-way point and he is the cutest 10 month old ever!"  Another message: "A one-year-old passing the mid-point, contentedly sucking her thumb."

As of 9:45am, we had safely moved 20 patients into the new building.  We were about 20 percent of the way through the move and on time at that point.  We continue to assess the situation minute by minute.  Our business is very unpredictable.  We have had children arrive via ambulance, AeroMed helicopter and car. 

In addition to our scheduled surgeries, we have several additional surgeries that have been added on to the caseload in the operating room. Three surgeries have already been completed successfully. 

I hope you have been following our progress on Facebook and Twitter. The news media coverage has been outstanding. I had so much fun being interviewed on live television, sharing our excitement of this very special day.

We have also discharged our first patient.  One of our very special girls was so determined to see the new hospital before she went home, that we actually transferred her to the new hospital and then discharged her from there.  She said it was important that she get to go to the new hospital, "because she's going to be president some day!"

One day away.

I am so excited that it is finally here, tomorrow we open the new Helen DeVos Children's Hospital and about 100 children are expected to be part of the big move of our patients.

Our president, Dr. Bob Connors gathered us together in the cafeteria of the new hospital this afternoon for last minute briefings.

In his quiet, calm way (he is a surgeon after all) Dr. Connors said, "To think that this day is actually coming after all these years of planning, and hoping and building, it is a surreal feeling almost. Tomorrow, there will be kids all over the place here, and that is a good thing, because this will be the right place for kids."

Dr. Connors looked around at all of us and added, "You all have been running a marathon for the past year or more, now it is like a 100 meter dash sprint to the finish."

Our two hospital chaplains then did a prayer of blessing. I found myself nodding at these words, "ease our anxieties, calm our fears, comfort our spirits, give us the strength and courage and attention to details so we can focus on our healing mission in this new space."

We heard from our nursing leaders coordinating the move that over the weekend they had the chance to tour some of the parents of children who will be moving, to get their new family ID badges taken care of and to help acclimate the parents to the new space.

"What a rewarding experience it was for me to be able to do that," Gretchen Koeman said. "The parents were so excited and so grateful." Sue Teman added, that she felt good to feel appreciated by the parents who said the tour helped alleviate their anxieties.

Over the weekend those of you in our Facebook fan community probably discovered that we have now reached 20,000 fans (which by the way is the 7^th largest of any hospital in the nation).

I shared with my colleagues one Facebook comment from a mom that really touched me, and I hope, serves to remind all of us, that our work here is really a sacred trust with the families of our patients: "The service has always been excellent, my child has had 7 surgeries in two years, and more to come. The new building is beautiful but it is the superb staff who make all the difference."

Will you be following our progress tomorrow?

You can keep track of our move on Facebook and on our Twitter site. Look for #newhdvch on Twitter.

Today is a special day for me, personally as well. My son Lucas turns 11 today. Happy Birthday Lucas! It has been so wonderful to see this new children's hospital through his eyes, and that of my daughter, Sofina.

At 3 p.m. today as we were about to hold our first "Go-No-Go" meeting for the 1-11-11 patient move into the new Helen DeVos Children's Hospital, Shari Schwanzl, vice president, nursing and patient care services, hustled into the room and announced: "Let's Go!"

I looked around the table at smiling faces and colleagues holding "thumbs up."

We are ready to move.

In our planning we had assembled 8 potential criteria that would determine if we are ready. The list had two columns, with check boxes: pass" or fail.

Just to be certain, we went around the room to the operational leaders responsible and asked for their assessment.
All clinical and operational areas are ready. Check.

There is not a current disaster in the health system or in the city. Check.

There are no major technology issues preventing the move. Check.

Another call to the National Weather Service said Tuesday will "not be too snowy" to prevent our employees from getting safely to work. Check.

We have sufficient staff even though the current children's hospital space is very busy with sick patients. Check.

The elevators are fully operational and there are no facilities or campus issues that would prevent a move. Check.

I looked around at the calm faces in the room of my colleagues who have worked tirelessly for more than a year to get us to the point.

Everybody is itching and ready to go, one nursing leader said, "let's just get in there already."

There are still last minute things to do, but at that moment, I let out a big sigh and said wow.

All systems are go.

How close are we to being ready to move in to the new Helen DeVos Children's Hospital five days from now?

The big news that brought a smile to everyone's faces today in our pre "Go - No Go" meeting was that the Slush Puppee machines have arrived, and there will be one on each unit. The red "Hawaiian Punch" flavor, everyone's favorite, will be the official flavor.

In our current space there is only one "slushee" machine on 7 South, and everyone raids it to bring treats to their patients. So the news that "Bob from Grand Rapids Popcorn" had come through with the slushee machines was welcomed by all.

For kids who are sick and in the hospital, the little comforts, like a slushee are the kinds of things that remind us that "kids need more than medicine to get well."

The same is true for the employees, and today was a great bonding experience spurred by, what else, free pizza.

Our Balk Cafe employees did a trial lunch today, offering free pizza, salad, soup and of course, ice cream and coffee for some employees who will be working in the new children's hospital.

I had the Chef Special, which was a white pizza with ham, mozzarella, artichokes and sun dried tomatoes and garlic. The fresh made dough was soft, warm and the crust had just the right crunch. The toppings were a wonderful blend of flavors.  Of course, I picked the worst time of year to start an online Weight Watchers program, so my friends and I looked up the point value for the pizza on our smart phones, and figured we would be okay.

Next to me one of my friends was raving about the pumpkin, apple, bacon soup. He shared a taste and it was delicious.

There was a constant line at the ice cream window and it was fun to see the smiles on the faces of adults licking big scoops of ice cream out of waffle cones. I can only imagine how much the kids will enjoy it 5 days from now.

Having our own lunch space was a great opportunity for employees from all areas to get together and the buzz and positive atmosphere was electric.

There are no "game changer" issues at the moment so it looks like all systems are go!

When we started planning in earnest about 16 months ago for the patient move scheduled on 1-11-11into the new Helen DeVos Children's Hospital we sat down and determined a set of "go/no criteria." 

We game-planned what things could possibly cause us to delay our move.  The most probable scenario was a big winter weather situation. Many of our employees commute some long distances from all over West Michigan to work here. 

Since we know we will need extra hands for move day, a big storm that would keep people from being able to report to work could potentially delay our move.   

I have been watching the weather with more interest than usual. Thankfully the 10 day forecast looks good for our move. Even the "Old Farmer's Almanac" looks favorable for 1-11-11with only light snow flurries forecasted.

Like most parents any time it is snowing in the morning my kids are asking if school will be cancelled for the day. My kids love to sled, ski and play in the snow.  I keep telling them, "There is lots of winter left, just not this week, please."

"Don't forget to clean out your refrigerators in your old unit."

The 1-11-11 countdown clock in the lobby says 7 today. One week until we move patients into the new Helen DeVos Children's Hospital.

Our preparation is getting down to the nitty gritty details now. My checklist of all the items that have to be done in the time remaining is winding down but there is lots to be done. Leaving the current children's hospital space behind has a checklist too, like reminders to clean out the refrigerators.

We are all going over operational plans, and sharing reminders and updates, and having daily "huddles" to review progress.

 As I walk through the new units, I see staff and physicians preparing their spaces, stocking supplies, testing equipment, practicing and drilling to ensure that they are completely ready for next week.  

There is a new energy in the building, seeing the staff making themselves at home. I feel everyone's mix of excitement and nerves, just like any big event that you've been planning for years. 

The pace of things continues to pick up with each hour and each day being so important to the final move day.    I am amazed to come in every morning to reports of all the work that has been done overnight.   And then I get to see the results during my rounds: like the shower curtains being installed and the new trash cans which were delivered yesterday.

Many thousands of decisions, details and plans are all coming together like a symphony to make one final push to 1-11-11. 

"Remind staff to put their belongings into their new lockers on move day."