Construction will reroute traffic at hospital

Expansion of children’s ICU will begin next week

Beginning November 18, expansion of the pediatric intensive care unit at UW Children’s Hospital and the addition of new operating rooms will change traffic patterns outside UW Hospital and Clinics.

Auto and pedestrian traffic will be routed through the front of the parking ramp to a drop-off area near the main entrance. The clinics entrance will be closed for most of the two-year project.

The children’s ICU will expand from 12 to 16 beds. Family sleep rooms also will be added and patient rooms will be enlarged and made more private.

Occupancy of the current ICU, which has been expanded twice since the hospital opened in 1979, has been consistently high over the last two years. Hospital officials want to respond to families’ needs for privacy and room for parents to be with their children in the ICU.

The addition of six operating rooms will accommodate the growth in demand for a variety of surgical services.

Other changes prompted by the construction:

• Tall vehicles (more than seven feet) for disabled people will have a special parking area just north of the parking ramp. Other medical transport vans over seven feet should use the north entrance, where designated parking spaces will be provided.
• The hospital has hired additional staff to greet patients at the main entrance and help with traffic flow at an information booth just off Highland Ave.

“We appreciate the patience of the community as this work gets under way,” said hospital chief executive officer Gordon Derzon. “We’re confident these projects will provide more comfortable and spacious surroundings for our patients we serve.” More information about the construction is available on the hospital’s Web site.