Durham, N.C.-based Duke University Hospital fully opened its new 11-story, $265 million tower, of which the first four floors will hold Duke Children's Hospital.
The building — which was started in late 2017 — houses 350 beds, according to a Dec. 13 news release emailed to Becker's. The other floors have units for oncology, transplant, orthopedics and neurosciences; patients were moved to these floors earlier this year.
The children's hospital includes patient rooms that are on average twice the size of the original rooms, furniture that can change into beds for family members, two pediatric cardiac catheterization labs, new pharmacy service, designated family zones and children's activity rooms.
The building was designed to create a more comfortable space for patients and their families, the release said.
"These patients and their parents may spend days, weeks — sometimes even months — with our caregivers," said Thomas Owens, MD, president of Duke University Hospital and senior vice president of Duke University Health System. "Our new Duke Central Tower children's facility is an example of our commitment to not only providing world class clinical care, but also to do so in an environment which promotes healing and wellbeing for our patients and their families."
Now that patients have moved into most of the tower, older rooms at the hospital will receive renovations, according to the release.