PITTSBURGH -- UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh performed a tricky operation on Saturday -- moving all of its young patients to a new campus two and a half miles away in Lawrenceville.
The Children's Hospital emergency room in Oakland
closed as of 6 a.m. Saturday. Taking over in its place was the
new emergency room at 45th Street and Penn Avenue; Patient transfers began at 7 a.m.
The hospital moved 152 inpatients to a new state-of-the-art building in Lawrenceville. Neighbors have watched the brightly colored building take shape near the corner of 45th Street and Penn Avenue.
A team of more than 275 nurses, physicians, administrators and other hospital staff, joined by Emergency Medical Services personnel, move the patients in short of seven hours, less than the anticipated eight to 12 hours officials anticipated. More than 40 ambulances from Allegheny, Beaver and Washington counties took part in the move.
During the move, WTAE Channel 4 followed Domenico Aliberto Jr., a 5-year-old who recently had surgery on his neck. Domenico said he was impressed -- he loved the bigger room, the large windows, the huge couch in his room and an oversized play area.
His father, Domenico Aliberto, was also impressed: "I really think it's nice and I think it's going to make the lives of the parents very easy."
"The hospital -- there's a new one, so we're going to be moving over. Kind of crazy," said 9-year-old patient Brandi Daley.
The hospital had prepared closing the Oakland facility for months, including practicing in dry runs with mannequins moved in place of people.
"The success of this complex patient move is a testament to the dedication of a team of hundreds who have been planning and preparing for this day for over two years," said Christopher A. Gessner, the hospital's president, in a statement.
"It's been planned for two years, so our planning team was put together two years ago and has worked constantly over those two years to make sure we've thought of everything," hospital Vice President Dr. Steven Docimo said.
The new nine-story campus consists of 296 beds and cost $625 million to build. An adjoined 10-story building is home to the John G. Rangos Sr. Research Center. The new hospital is 25 percent larger than the Oakland facility, and the new research center is 50 percent larger than its former location.
The property consists of 10 acres of land with five technologically sophisticated buildings equipped with wireless Internet for paperless medical records.
"We will have a police officer or someone always down at the curb to redirect families that are coming to the emergency room (on Saturday)," Docimo said. "There are also ambulances on standby if there is someone who is very ill."
For directions to the new campus, visit www.chp.edu/CHP/directions.The Pittsburgh Marathon, which takes place on Sunday, will affect traffic in the area of the new hospital. For details about marathon street closures, visit
www.pittsburghmarathon.com.
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Follow Domenico, 5, To The New Children's
