A new children’s hospital planned on the west side of the University of Wisconsin campus goes up for final environmental-impact approval this February. The new American Family Children’s Hospital will be connected to the main UW Hospital complex and run separate from the university. The hospital will be built partly on UW-owned parking lot 63, west of the existing hospital.
The new hospital will span approximately 227,000 square feet, including about 80 beds compared to the 62 beds the children’s area of the hospital has now, as well as an underground parking garage of 200 spaces, compared to the current 212 spots.
The hospital is projected to cost between $55 and $65 million. The UW Hospital will not use any state dollars for the building and expects to fund $25 million of the total cost through bonding, a form of pay similar to loans. The rest of the money will come from private philanthropy, with American Family Insurance making a contribution of $10 million, a donation UW Hospital and Clinics public affairs representative Michael Felber said kicked off the plans for actual construction of the hospital.
Though Felber expects the underground parking garage to be used by patients and their families, he said a large parking ramp is due to replace UW parking lot 76.
Another improvement from the children’s hospital’s old facilities is room size. The new rooms will be more than twice as large, measuring about 300 square feet, compared to the facility’s current 125 square feet. This will allow for a parent sleeping area, storage space, a bathroom and a staff work area.
“Talks of building a hospital have been going on for the better part of the last decade or so. [We need a new hospital] because space is way too confined right now,” Felber said, adding that the new facility will finally give the staff at the children’s hospital a chance to fully use their skills. “We don’t have a facility on par with the quality of our caregivers.”
Mary Kaminski, child-life director at the hospital, said the new hospital would possibly allow the hospital to employ more student workers and student volunteers. Kaminski, whose area employs four students, said the hospital would not be able to run the program without student involvement, which makes up about 80 percent of the volunteering staff.
“The needs will be greater [after moving into the bigger facility],” she said.
Connie White, the planner of the hospital’s environmental-impact statement, said she anticipates minimal project difficulties.
“We didn’t find very many problems with the project,” White said, adding the project appears to be a “good” one. She added that the typical impacts of a project this size are expected to occur, such as disruptions in traffic or parking, and that the natural environment will face minimal disruption as well.
The groundbreaking is slated for late summer or early fall, and completion is slated for 2007.
