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When the Children’s Tower, Richmond’s new home for pediatric inpatient, emergency and trauma care, opens on April 30, Children’s Hospital of Richmond at VCU (CHoR) and VCU Massey Cancer Center’s inpatient and outpatient pediatric cancer care will finally be housed under one roof.

The outpatient clinic is located in the adjacent Children’s Pavilion, which when combined with the Children’s Tower consolidates the region’s pediatric specialty care into one city block and 1 million square feet dedicated to caring for kids. The inpatient unit’s move will improve the health care experience for children and families accessing pediatric oncology services.

“Patients often show up at our clinic very sick and need to be directly admitted as an inpatient,” said India Yount Sisler, M.D., clinical director of the Division of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology at CHoR and Massey. “The proximity of the new inpatient space to the clinic will make it incredibly easy for families and providers to facilitate that move.”

That proximity will also improve pediatric oncology patients’ access to all the staff that practice in both spaces, including child life specialists, social workers and chaplains.

In addition to pediatric-specific operating rooms and imaging suites equipped with the latest advancements for optimal medical care, the Children’s Tower creates a kid-friendly patient experience. Playrooms, teen lounges, a family gym, interactive installations, performance space and family lounges are among the amenities that will be available to make the environment more comfortable for kids and families. The tower will feature all-private rooms with private bathrooms and dedicated spaces for caregivers to sleep during overnight stays.

“Since our outpatient clinic is near the entrance to the new tower, families have spent a lot of time watching the construction, and they are feeling a lot of excitement and anticipation,” said Sisler. “As a team, we all feel grateful and proud to work somewhere that’s investing so much in children’s services."

Advancing Virginia's pediatric cancer care

CHoR and Massey offer the region’s only pediatric cancer program, and Massey has Virginia’s largest and most comprehensive bone marrow transplant program, the first in the commonwealth to offer bone marrow and stem cell transplantation to children with cancer.

Massey was also the first in Virginia to offer FDA-approved CAR T-cell therapies for the treatment of adults and children with lymphoma and leukemia.

The new Children’s Tower will include a dedicated space for bone marrow transplant patients, who previously have shared an inpatient unit with adult transplant patients. “Rather than providers having to travel to see our patients at several different locations around the hospital, pediatric cancer care will be consolidated in one space – which means a better experience for the patients, families and staff,” said Sisler.

Families can also look forward to facilities staffed exclusively by employees with an expertise in pediatrics, from CT-scanner technicians to nurses and anesthesiologists in the operating room.

“We are constantly looking for ways to improve the experience and outcomes of our patients, whether that’s offering a specialized team of pediatric experts or providing access to the latest advances in technology and treatments through our clinical trials,” said Joseph Laver, M.D., M.H.A., professor and chief of the Division of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology and endowed chair in pediatric cancer research at CHoR and Massey. “The opening of the new tower will be transformative for pediatric cancer care in Virginia.”

Written by: Annie Harris