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Ribbon cutting ceremony held today for new pediatric emergency room

Shands HealthCare offiicals held a ribbon cutting for the new pediatric emergency room that will open on July 1st. The new E-R with the ability to treat 24-thousand emergency pediatric patients in a year will be North Central Florida’s first emergency room specifically geared toward kids. Located at Shands at the University of Florida, the Pediatric ER will have a separate entrance with free valet parking for adults transporting children, and an adjacent parking garage for visitors.

The Pediatric ER will be staffed by seven UF board-certified or board-eligible pediatric emergency medicine physicians and 22 Shands pediatric-trained emergency medicine registered nurses. The facility will have its own check-in area, two waiting areas, nine private and two semi-private treatment rooms, five observation beds, two exam rooms for children with infectious conditions, two resuscitation rooms and a conscious-sedation room for casting broken bones and stitching wounds. The facility will also have a dedicated radiology imaging room equipped to deliver the lowest-dose radiation to young patients.

Emergency Medical Services will still transport children with life-threatening illnesses or injuries to the Level 1 trauma center at the Shands Critical Care Center. Women more than 16 weeks pregnant in active labor may be taken to the Shands Critical Care Center or Labor and Delivery at Shands at UF.

Renovation of the hospital space to create the Pediatric ER has cost approximately $5 million. The goal is to fully fund the facility by raising $10 million to cover construction, equipment and operating support for the first two years

Contact WUFT News by calling 352-392-6397 or emailing news @wuft.org