My daughter asked me the other day why I give so many presentations.  I told her that lots of people are excited about the new hospital and they want to ask questions.  She asked,  "Why don't kids get to ask questions?" I said, "What kind of questions do you think kids have about the new hospital?"  She said, " Like, how will they wash all of those windows? "  Well, here is a picture of how they wash all of those beautiful windows.  I wonder what else kids would ask if invited.  We'd love to hear your kids' questions about the new Helen DeVos Children's Hospital.  We'll do our best to answer them.

As I was making dinner the other night I realized it was suspiciously quiet in my house.

Just then, my nine-year-old son emerged from his room with a LEGO® creation.  I recognized immediately he had made his own version of the new Helen DeVos Children's Hospital. It had the elevator stack along the back and a LEGO® person peaking out a window on a top floor. 

It's amazing that when you build something just for kids, that kids recognize what a special thing it is.  Most things in the world are created for adult-sized people so when kids start to realize all of the special thought that has gone into designing a hospital just for them, we hope they will be delighted.   My son said, "Look, a hospital just for us."

Usually when kids come to the hospital their families come along too, so the new children's hospital is designed to make their stay or visit the best experience it can be.  If you've ever spent the night on a chair so that you could be close to your sick child, you know what I mean.  An example of just how much thought is going into the comfort of this hospital is the process involved in selecting a sleeper sofa for the patient rooms.  The idea is to keep families together as much as possible so parents will be able to sleep overnight in their child's room. 

Dozens of front line caregivers, families of hospitalized children and furniture experts have worked together to find sleeper sofas that can pull out to sleep two people comfortably.  We've even tested different models with families who are staying here right now to make sure we get the most comfortable version.

The idea of designing our care around the needs of children and families is ingrained in all of us who work here. Recently we had a two day planning retreat with over 100 leaders from around the Children's Hospital and Spectrum Health, representing every area of operations.  What an impressive commitment this group represents.  We went around the room to introduce ourselves. A very telling moment was when a representative from our Family Centered Care Advisory Council stood up and introduced herself with the title of "Mom."  The room erupted into applause. 

Having parent representatives on design and planning committees is one of the most valuable things we can do to ensure that the children's hospital and the processes that occur in the building consider how the patient and family will experience it.  In future blog posts I'll be sharing some of these amenities and services that will be unique and special in the new Helen DeVos Children's Hospital.

Catch a sneak peak of what the completed building will look like in the video on the

Watch Us Grow section of our site.