BUFFALO, N.Y. —  On Oct. 17, a dedication ceremony was hosted by the Kaleida Healthcare System for the brand-new John R. Oishei Children’s Hospital in Buffalo on the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus (BNMC). The ceremony included speeches as well as tours of the new facility.

The John R. Oishei Children’s Hospital is a replacement of the existing Women & Children’s Hospital of Buffalo. The new facility has 174 beds, seven operating rooms, three C-Section rooms, 30 emergency department beds, 10 observation and 18 radiology rooms. The facility is  connected to the Buffalo General Medical Center via a two story bridge.

Boston-based Shepley Bulfinch Richardson & Abbott was selected as architect for the 85,000-square-foot facility. The local office of Turner Construction served as the general contractor for the project. The project was a physician-led effort (with 48 OB/GYN and adult physicians representing a broad section of the community) that was made up of the Physician Strategic Planning Committee (PSPC).

The new hospital contains a “womb-like” NICU that is calm, private and allows mothers and infants to be together 24 hours a day during their stay. All patient rooms are on the outer perimeter of the building in an effort to provide all patients with windows that tout views of the outdoors. All patient rooms are spacious, with a big-screen television and a full private bathroom as well as an in-room seating area that turns into a bed and has its own television for family visits.

The design team’s goal was to also make the new hospital comfortable for children. Every pediatric floor has a playroom with twinkling lights and toys for children and their families to enjoy. Additionally, there is a two-story winter garden — a green space where children and families can retreat to during their hospital stay, regardless of weather conditions — and where children are allowed to grow their own plants in the winter garden.

While there is still work to be done at the new Oishei Children’s Hospital, it will be ready in one month to receive new patients. In addition to any new patients, patients from the old Bryant Street hospital will be transported over to the new hospital once it’s ready.

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