With a booming population in Fort Worth, Texas, Cook Children's is expanding its capacity and access to care.
"Our mission is to be the pediatric provider of choice for every child in our region, not 80% or 75%," Stan Davis, president of Cook Children's Medical Center, told Becker's. "We can't do that if we don't grow with the needs of our area."
Cook Children's recently unveiled a 10-year expansion plan for its flagship facility, which will add 1 million square feet to the existing 2.5 million-square-foot campus. The project will expand the neonatal intensive care unit and pediatric intensive care unit, increase capacity for hematology/oncology services and research, and add operating rooms and imaging services.
New technology and service lines are also part of the plan, Mr. Davis said.
"Healthcare technology never stays the same, so we'll evolve with the needs of our advanced abilities to provide care in this expanded space," he said. "It provides opportunity for existing staff, but we'll also be bringing in quite a bit of new staff to grow with our organization as well."
The increased capacity will help ensure patients are not diverted to other facilities due to space constraints. Although rare, Cook Children's has transferred patients to facilities as far as Oklahoma and San Antonio in recent years, Mr. Davis said.
"We don't want to say, 'No, we have to find someplace else for you, we can't take care of you here,'" he said. "That's not in our DNA, and we want to make sure we fulfill that commitment to our community."
In addition to the flagship expansion, Cook Children's is opening two new neighborhood clinics in 2025, bringing its total to nine. These clinics are located in medical deserts based on analyses of emergency room patients' proximity to pediatric services, Mr. Davis said.
"That's huge for us, because our mission is to prevent and treat illness," he said. "We want to make sure we swim upstream and kids get their preventative care as well as emergency or advanced hospital care when needed."
Cook Children's is also expanding its hospital in Prosper, Texas, which opened nearly two years ago. The expansion will add capabilities to the NICU and PICU.
The health system's research capabilities are growing as well, Mr. Davis said.
"There's a lot of work being done in genetics, gene therapy and precision medicine," he said. "We're getting smarter every day so that we can analyze the specific health needs of a child, diagnose appropriately and provide specialized, targeted therapy for them," he said.
In his 18 years with Cook Children's, Mr. Davis has witnessed tremendous growth, he said.
"It's not just about the building; it's about what we're going to be able to do in those buildings to expand our capabilities and say yes to those patients anytime they come to us, so we don't have to send the kids of our community anywhere else," he said. "We pride ourselves on that, and I'm really excited that we're able to do that and partner with our community to make sure kids get the best care close to home."