More kids in the Kansas City region will be able to access services at Children's Mercy under a plan announced Wednesday to build a new tower for acute patient care.
The tower will allow the hospital to expand the emergency department, as well as relocate the pediatric and neonatal intensive care units. It will also hold a surgical center with what leadership dubbed "future-ready technology" like robotics, ready to offer state-of-the-art care.
All this would take place on Gilham Road at the hospital's flagship Adele Hall campus, overlooking the Crown Center site where the Kansas City Royals plan to build a new stadium.
Dr. Alejandro Quiroga, president and CEO of Children's Mercy, said the demand for pediatric healthcare is already pressing capacity and, without an expansion, the hospital would run out of room.
"This investment protects our ability to say 'yes' to the next child who needs us, while strengthening the expertise, compassion, and advanced care families count on," Quiroga said at a presentation of the plans on Wednesday. "It's the same obligation we've carried for 129 years, and we're building for what comes next."
According to the hospital, third-party assessments revealed that existing capacity at Children's Mercy would only meet 67% of the demand for total beds in the next five years and just 40% of demand for NICU services. Hospital leaders expect the new patient tower will help ease this squeeze, and expand capacity by 25% to 30%.
"Space must evolve to meet the needs of the moment," Quiroga said. "Today, we take the next step and begin the most ambitious project in our history."
The tower appears to be part one of a multiphase project geared toward meeting growing demand. While plans reported by The Beacon earlier this month include several new buildings and a pair of administrative offices, this patient-focused tower is the first to be confirmed by the hospital, with construction expected to begin as soon as this fall and wrap up in 2031.
The planned tower expansion will cost more than $1 billion, according to hospital officials, who did not disclose all the funding details. A press release noted the project would be backed by "private-public investments built on community philanthropy and long-standing collaboration."
'Helping more kids like me'
The announcement comes as many general hospitals cut back on pediatric beds and other services.
Earlier this month, the University of Kansas Health System announced it would close its pediatric intensive care unit due to low usage. While KU will maintain its neonatal ICU to treat babies and some kids, Children's Mercy will become the only option for children in need of extra care.
The hospital's downtown campus project will make room for more of these patients who need specialized services. While it is costly, many policy experts suggest the consolidation of pediatric care is beneficial for the balance sheets in the long term, a definite advantage for the hospital.
Amaeris Garner, a 13-year-old Children's Mercy patient who helped moderate the announcement on Wednesday, began her life in the NICU, hooked up to tubes that kept her alive.
"Now that I'm older, I understand something I didn't before," she told the crowd. "None of this — none of the things I get to do or dream or become — would ever be possible without a place like Children's Mercy right here in Kansas City."
Although she does still visit with a doctor at Children's Mercy regularly, Garner said she's pretty healthy now.
"That's what today's about. Helping more kids like me," she said.
In addition to medical treatment, hospital leaders said the tower will expand access to research into treatments and cures.
At the announcement Wednesday, Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe said it could also prove to be a boon for patients across the region, not just in Missouri.
"The research I've seen at this facility rivals anything I've seen across the United States," Kehoe said. "I can tell you from the personal side, as a parent, what a life-changing statement this facility will be in the quality of care and the saving of lives moving forward."
The planned expansion also mirrors a broader approach by the Hospital to expand in other areas in the region, including Wichita and Springfield.
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