A Second Hospital, A First for Children’s Health
Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia’s new hospital in King of Prussia answers the ever-growing demand for world-class pediatric care close to home.
For more than 165 years, families have turned to Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) for hope in the face of crisis, for answers and expertise when they are needed the most. Now this unparalleled pediatric care will be accessible to even more children and families.
CHOP will soon open the doors of the Middleman Family Pavilion, a brand-new, full-service pediatric hospital in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, one of the fastest-growing communities in the Philadelphia suburbs. Though the hospital’s regional reach already includes more than 50 primary, specialty and urgent care locations, the opening of a second inpatient hospital is a first for CHOP, marking a new chapter in pediatric health care.
“One of our goals at CHOP is to provide the right care, at the right time and in the right place,” says Madeline Bell, CHOP President and CEO. “King of Prussia is highly accessible to a number of communities throughout Pennsylvania and New Jersey, where a growing population is in need of pediatric services, including inpatient hospital care. Our new hospital will provide these communities easy access to the highest quality hospital services available for children.”
A Pediatric Healthcare Hub
The King of Prussia hospital is immediately adjacent to CHOP’s existing Specialty Care Center, which has served area families since 2015, as well as the recently expanded Urgent Care Center, allowing for a seamless integration of inpatient and outpatient services. A child seen in the Oncology Clinic and Day Hospital, for example, can now be easily admitted to inpatient care if necessary, sparing the family a potentially stressful trip into the city.
The King of Prussia hospital is immediately adjacent to CHOP’s existing Specialty Care Center, which has served area families since 2015, as well as the recently expanded Urgent Care Center, allowing for a seamless integration of inpatient and outpatient services. A child seen in the Oncology Clinic and Day Hospital, for example, can now be easily admitted to inpatient care if necessary, sparing the family a potentially stressful trip into the city.
In the past, when area families have needed emergency care for their children and teens, they may have had no choice but to sacrifice pediatric expertise for the closest available option. Those days are over. CHOP’s new hospital offers the region’s only pediatric ER with both pediatric emergency medicine-trained physicians and pediatric intensivists onsite 24/7.
“I often see families who have been transferred to CHOP from the ER of a community adult hospital because the care their child needed was not available in that setting,” says Jan Boswinkel, M.D., Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia in King of Prussia. “Those families will now be able to come to the King of Prussia hospital, use the pediatric ER, and if needed, be admitted.”
Ranked No. 1 in the region and No. 2 in the nation by U.S. News and World Report’s 2021-22 Honor Roll of Best Children’s Hospitals, CHOP’s pediatric specialists are experts in child health from infancy through young adulthood. At the Middleman Family Pavilion, families will have easy access to top-ranked specialists in Urology; Ear, Nose, and Throat; Orthopaedics and more. A Pediatric Intensive Care Unit and a breadth of support services are also available, including an onsite lab and a comprehensive radiology suite.
From emergency to specialty to inpatient care, the King of Prussia hospital offers children and teens up to 18 the full scope of pediatric healthcare services—in one convenient location.
Designed with Families in Mind
Having a child in the hospital is stressful in the best of circumstances, but the King of Prussia hospital strives to make it less so, from plenty of free parking to way-finding cues to thoughtful touches that make a family’s stay more comfortable.
Having a child in the hospital is stressful in the best of circumstances, but the King of Prussia hospital strives to make it less so, from plenty of free parking to way-finding cues to thoughtful touches that make a family’s stay more comfortable.
“We think about pediatric hospitalization differently than we did 25 years ago,” says Allison Ballantine, M.D., M.Ed., Associate Chief Medical Officer at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia in King of Prussia. “We’re still providing outstanding medical care, but we now know so much more about helping kids heal and building resilience through how we provide that care.”
One notable difference in the hospital experience is the attention paid to caring for parents and caregivers. The hospital’s private inpatient rooms offer dedicated spaces with separate TVs for caregivers to sleep, work, or unwind. When the stress of caring for a sick child feels overwhelming, parents can seek respite in one of the hospital’s many spacious, sunlit lounges or take a moment to reflect in a meditation room.
Staffed with families in mind, the new hospital’s support team includes social workers to help families navigate the hospital experience and bedside language interpretation services to ensure communication is never a barrier to receiving the best possible care. In addition, child life specialists provide games and activities, both bedside and in brightly colored playrooms, to help children cope with hospitalization.
“These things help create a comforting sense of normalcy,” says Ballantine. “A big focus in design was how to bring the building and staff together to best support our patients and families during a stressful time.”
The Next Chapter
The Middleman Family Pavilion currently offers 52 inpatient beds, with plans to add another 56 beds on the fifth and sixth floors of the building, bringing the total capacity to 108. As hospital leadership looks ahead to further growth, one thing that remains the same is CHOP’s steadfast commitment to children and families.
The Middleman Family Pavilion currently offers 52 inpatient beds, with plans to add another 56 beds on the fifth and sixth floors of the building, bringing the total capacity to 108. As hospital leadership looks ahead to further growth, one thing that remains the same is CHOP’s steadfast commitment to children and families.
“CHOP is known throughout the world for excellence,” says Boswinkel. “This is our opportunity to bring that excellence closer.”
Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia’s King of Prussia Campus
550 S Goddard Blvd.
King of Prussia, PA 19406
www.chop.edu/koph
550 S Goddard Blvd.
King of Prussia, PA 19406
www.chop.edu/koph
For appointments, referrals or questions, call 800-TRY-CHOP.
Photograph by Alison Dunlap
Published (and copyrighted) in Suburban Life magazine, December 2021.
