Children's Specialized Hospital Builds for Tomorrow

The Expansion Will Provide Services to More Children in Need

By Kim Ann Zimmermann

Children’s Specialized Hospital, one of the largest pediatric rehabilitation hospitals in
the country, is constructing a new hospital on the campus of Robert Wood University Hospital in New Brunswick. This new 140,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art pediatric rehabilitation hospital is being built on the campus of Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital. Construction began in November 2005 and is expected to be completed in early 2008.

While the facilities in Mountainside and Fanwood will remain open, they will be used for
outpatient, long-term rehabilitation and other services, according to Warren E. Moore, vice president and chief operating officer.

“Our current facilities were coming to the end of their life as a hospital,” says Warren. “[Our current facilities] will continue to thrive for outpatient services and long-term care.”

Locating the rehabilitation hospital for children adjacent to Bristol-Myers Squibb Children’s Hospital at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital and the Child Health Institute of UMDNJ will create the first comprehensive pediatric medical complex in
the history of New Jersey, according to Moore.

The facility will bring together the joint efforts of acute care physicians, rehabilitation experts and research scientists will be unparalleled in the state.

PSE&G Children’s Specialized Hospital-New Brunswick will be a 60-bed, free-standing inpatient hospital. It will serve as the base for the Hospital’s renowned traumatic brain injury (TBI) and spinal cord injury (SCI) programs along with its pioneering special infant care program for low weight, ventilator dependent babies. This newest Children’s Specialized facility will be the launching pad to enhance these programs from regional
to national centers of excellence.

PSE&G Children’s Specialized Hospital-New Brunswick will have five floors. One will be devoted to infants, toddlers and young children and will be the focus of our Special Infant Care Program for premature babies. Another floor will be devoted to pre-teens, adolescents and teenagers and will be home to the hospital’s Traumatic Brain Injury and Spinal Cord Injury programs. It will include special rooms for those with spinal cord injuries. Both floors are being designed with the input of patients and their parents.
Thus, every room will have the space and furnishings to permit parents to stay with their children overnight. Another key component of these floors will be the inclusion of dedicated family spaces such as lounges, shower and laundry facilities and sibling play rooms.

Classroom and study spaces, as well as lounges, will be included for the older patients, and there will be playrooms for the younger patients.

The building’s top floor will house medical staff and administrative offices. The ground floor will have the hospital’s two main entryways, registration and admitting, two rehabilitation gymnasiums and other rehabilitation space such as speech and occupational therapy. It will also have a chapel/meditation room, office for volunteers,
quiet space and a sibling playroom.

Located on the ground floor will be aquatherapy services, including a pool with wheelchair lifts and ramps. This level will also have the dining facility, which will be styled after a New York deli, access to outdoor dining and therapy areas and the Learning Center.

The Learning Center will be a large, multi-functional space with the flexibility for several configurations, including a seminar set-up for several hundred participants. It will have a large lobby for social activities and breakout rooms for small group discussion. It will be the largest meeting space in the three pediatric institutions, and will be used for training and presentations by all three.

Children’s Specialized Hospital 888-CHILDREN (1-888-244-5373) WWW.CHILDRENS-SPECIALIZED.ORG An affiliate member of the Robert Wood Johnson Health System, Children’s Specialized Hospital offers centers of excellence in brain injury, spinal cord dysfunction, educational technology and rehabilitation technology in addition to a respiratory program and outpatient services. These are just a few of our many program and specialty service areas that combine cutting-edge technology with clinical expertise and compassionate care in a family-centered environment at facilities in Mountainside, Toms River, Fanwood, Hamilton, Newark, Roselle Park and Freehold. Additionally, Children’s staff provides their expertise at various schools, centers, and programs for children with special needs throughout New Jersey.

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