American Family Children’s Hospital holds open house July 29

The time has come to “open the gift” for Wisconsin’s children and families.

Four years in the making, the state-of-the-art American Family Children’s Hospital in Madison is almost ready to open its doors. With a Community Open House set for 1-5 p.m. on Sunday, July 29, this pediatric health care facility will soon become one of the greater Madison area’s premier assets.

The public is invited to attend the event. The free, family-friendly afternoon will feature self-guided tours, musical entertainment, Bucky Badger and Ronald McDonald.

“We cannot wait to unveil this incredible resource to the community,” says Donna Sollenberger, president and CEO of UW Hospital and Clinics. “Most families, thankfully, will never see their child hospitalized. Should the need arise, however, any child, parent, grandparent or friend who enters our hospital will be awed by this facility that is designed around a child’s and family’s every need.”

The six-story American Family Children’s Hospital will replace the existing UW Children’s Hospital, currently located within the UW Hospital and Clinics building that opened in 1979. With more parents wanting to be with their children around the clock, the need for a more spacious, stand-alone children’s hospital continued to grow over time.

“We knew this was a great idea when we first thought of it,” Sollenberger says, “but we knew we would need help from donors to build it.”

Finally, in March 2003, American Family Insurance stepped forward to help make this plan a reality. With unprecedented generosity, American Family announced a $10 million gift to spearhead the “No Finer Gift” fundraising campaign to build a new children’s hospital in Madison.

Ultimately, some $41 million will have been raised from the community toward the $78 million cost of the hospital’s initial construction. A second phase of fundraising is also underway to complete pediatric operating rooms, a radiology suite and a 24-bed surgical inpatient unit. Once completed, the new hospital will house 85 fully private inpatient rooms, an increase over the current children’s hospital’s 60-bed capacity.

“There are so many worthy charitable causes throughout south-central Wisconsin,” Sollenberger says. “In many ways, that makes it all the more amazing how generously so many individuals, businesses and other organizations reached into their hearts to make this dream come true for Wisconsin’s children.”

John Flad, chair of the American Family Children’s Hospital Advisory Board, could not praise the community enough for the way it backed this project.

“From the members of the business community to the kids’ lemonade stand, people from every walk of life partnered with us to build this hospital,” Flad says. “It really is a standing tribute to the incredibly giving nature of this community, the state, and the alumni of the University of Wisconsin.”

How will the American Family Children’s Hospital make a difference in the lives of children? Compared with the existing UW Children’s Hospital, the new facility will offer:

• An aesthetic design featuring an "All Things Wisconsin" theme. Natural features of Wisconsin — such as farmlands, prairies, the Lake Michigan shoreline, the North Woods and many others will be incorporated throughout the interior design.
• A main lobby designed as a “Town Square” that will welcome patients, families and visitors. Here, families and friends can rest on benches in a park-like setting and visit the Wisconsin Avenue Pharmacy and Gifts “drug store,” a pharmacy that will dispense critical medications but will also house a toy-filled gift shop.
• Larger inpatient rooms, more than double the size of those in the existing hospital. This means lots of space for parents and family to be comfortable, including a sleep bed in each room.
• Expanded Hospital School rooms and play areas, including a separate school room for children with cancer or at higher risk of infection.
• A sibling care center known as Tyler’s Place.

“Offering these amenities to hospitalized children and families actually helps kids heal faster,” says Sollenberger. “That is why we are so excited to open our doors.”

The first day of clinic appointments for patients will be Monday, Aug. 27. Inpatients will be moved to the new hospital on Wednesday, Aug. 29.

For more information, visit uwhealth.org/kids or call 608/265-7427.