A much-anticipated new four-story expansion of the Stony Brook Children’s Hospital debuted Thursday as officials showcased its cutting-edge treatment options in a setting designed to make kids feel comfortable.
The new nautical-themed facility features single patient rooms, a live stream of the Long Island Aquarium, and an abundance of playrooms, lounges, homework areas, and a garden. As for the medical side, 180 pediatric specialists in more than 30 pediatric specialties work around the clock utilizing the latest in painless medicine. Hospital beds even record and upload patient information directly to the patient’s chart.
“This beautiful new, state-of-the-art children’s hospital will expand Stony Brook’s capabilities to meet the growing healthcare needs of children and their families across Long Island,” Michael Bernstein, interim president of Stony Brook University, told reporters during a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the Stony Brook campus.
Billed as Long Island’s only children’s teaching hospital, the new facility it part of a $450 million expansion at Stony Brook Medical Center. The $73 million poured into the children’s hospital took the form of a 71,500-square-foot facility adjacent to the general university hospital.
The university reports that funds were gathered from a mixture of $25 million from 3,584 donors, $50 million in funding from two local New York State senators, $35 million from the governor and the State University of New York, and $50 million from philanthropists Jim and Marilyn Simons.
“The new hospital was designed with patients at the center of our thinking and planning, to promote their safety, well-being and healing,” said Dr. Margaret McGovern, Knapp Professor of Pediatrics and Physician in Chief of Stony Brook Children’s Hospital. She added that it will “combine the best practices in modern pediatric medicine with a child-first, family-first philosophy.”
Delaney Unger, a 13-year-old Osteosarcoma survivor from Selden who received a unique amputation called rotationplasty at Stony Brook Children’s in 2017, praised the hospital.
“I am a little jealous of the new beautiful Stony Brook Children’s Hospital,” Unger said. “I can attest that not only will the children who stay here get the best possible care, but they will also do so in a fantastic new facility designed with them in mind.”
A community open house will be hosted on Saturday, Nov. 2, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
