$230M Expansion Unveiled At Children's

By Frank Vascellaro, WCCO-TV and Susie Jones, NewsRadio 830 WCCO

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Children's Hospitals and Clinics is now bigger and better. At a ribbon cutting ceremony on Wednesday, hospital CEO Alan Goldbloom said the $230 million expansion will add more than 250,000-square feet to the facility.

"More importantly, we've created extraordinary space for children and families and it allows us to provide not only the high tech and most modern elements necessary for care, but also create a really welcoming environment," said Goldbloom.

Like the sibling play area, where everything is designed to help and support the entire family, while caring for the sick child.

There's even a Ronald McDonald house inside the hospital, marking only the fifth one in the world. Here, there's room for 16 families to stay.

"Your patient is not just the child, your patient is the whole family because when a child is sick the parents don't want to be anywhere but by that child's side," Goldbloom said.

Baby Matthew is fighting pnuemonia. The new rooms have a comfortable couch that pulls out into a bed along with computers and play stations.

If that computer or your cell phone breaks, take advantage of the free Geek Squad tech services right in hospital.

Fourteen-year-old tour guide, Olivia, has been in and out of Children's all her life.

"There's just so much color on the walls," she said, walking through the halls.

The improved hospital also includes a lot of art. Goldbloom said they have partnered with some of the major arts organizations in the city. That's one of Olivia's favorite new additions.

"It kind of makes it easier having to come to the hospital. So much feels less like, 'Ugh, its the hospital,'" she said.

It's now inspiring, like the neo natal intensive care unit, with pictures of former tiny patients who have grown to appreciate what Children's has done for them and their families.

Minneapolis Institute of Art, Children's Theatre, MacPhail Center for Music, Children's Museum, and Compass, a community arts organization, are bringing their skills and performances into the hospital, as well.

Goldbloom said they have filled the hospital with art and with performances they can video tape and allow patients to watch from their rooms. He said he wants the hospital to be a "living place" and not just a sterile hospital.

NewsRadio 830 WCCO's Susie Jones Reports

Extended Interview With Hospital CEO Alan Goldbloom