Children’s hospital opens new patient tower

Cook Children’s Medical Center (CCMC) is physical proof that a functional design can still be fun. The Fort Worth, Texas, hospital recently opened its South Tower renovation and addition project as part of a long-term master plan. The center’s outdoor space boasts colorful and interactive features that appeal to the senses of children, while its interior features state-of-the-art design and advanced equipment to support high-quality care. 

CallisonRTKL is the architect of record on the project, which includes 318,000 square feet of new construction and 101,000 square feet of renovation.

“The South Tower project at CCMC is a key component of a 50-year campus master plan to make CCMC a preeminent children’s institution,” says CallisonRTKL Senior Vice President Wayne Barger.

The project team used an integrated project delivery method which included four major phases: criteria design, detailed design, implementation design and construction. The method assisted greatly in the coordination of several complex medical spaces.

The tower’s basement level includes a new full-service lab and central sterile department. The expanded emergency department on the first floor includes 48 new emergency exam and treatment rooms and renovation of 30 existing rooms. The first floor also holds a grab-n-go quick foodservice option.

On the second floor, the project team built 17 new operating rooms (ORs), 24 new post-anesthesia care unit spaces and a host of spaces for surgery prep and recovery. The previous surgical space was completely demolished and renovated to make way for the new design. The new space was also renovated to accommodate a convenient and accessible surgery waiting room.

The tower’s third floor is home to a new heart center and the Cardiovascular Center of Excellence. It includes two new cardiovascular ORs, a new hybrid catheterization lab, diagnostic catheterization lab and seven prep and recovery spaces, as well as 14 cardiovascular intensive care unit rooms.

The hospital is also responding to growing concerns over behavioral health in patients of all ages with a new inpatient unit and outpatient pre-hospitalization program for pediatric behavioral health.

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