Shriners Hospital for Children — Lexington opened its first hospital in downtown Lexington, KY in 1926 and has been operating at its current location on Richmond Road since 1955. It was the 14th Shriners Hospitals for Children in the United States and was originally connected to the children’s ward of the Good Samaritan Hospital. In April 2017, Shriners Hospitals for Children — Lexington will become Shriners Hospitals for Children Medical Center — Lexington when it opens the doors to a new five-story medical center.
The new facility will cost approximately $47 million and will be located on the UK HealthCare Campus across from the University of Kentucky Albert B. Chandler Hospital. The new facility, owned and operated by Shriners Hospitals for Children, will be a state-of-the-art ambulatory care center. Lexington Shriners Hospital will occupy 60,000 square feet of space on the bottom three floors for pediatric orthopaedic care, and UK HealthCare will lease the top two floors for ophthalmology services
Locating to the UK HealthCare campus will bring together the pediatric orthopaedic expertise Shriners is known for with the top-rated specialty and subspecialty pediatric care at Kentucky Children’s Hospital – a benefit to children with complex conditions. Close proximity to a first-rate medical center will also enhance the education and research aspects of the hospital’s mission. In 2016, over 12,000 children and teens from Kentucky and surrounding states will come to Lexington Shriners Hospital to see their physician specialist and receive related services. The new medical center will expand capacity to over 15,000 children and teens.
The new medical center will include a motion analysis laboratory (one of only three in the state), 20 patient exam rooms, two surgical suites, a rehabilitation gymnasium and therapy rooms, and interactive artwork. Energy efficiency was a priority in the design. The building will have geothermal heating and cooling, LED lighting and occupancy sensors, and automated equipment and controls.
Achievements and advances in orthopaedic care for children have changed since the current Shriners Hospitals for Children – Lexington was built in 1988. Fewer children require inpatient care while the number of children receiving outpatient care has increased significantly. This year, 80% of the hospital’s surgical cases have been performed without the child requiring an overnight stay. The pediatric orthopaedic surgeons currently on staff at the Lexington Shriners Hospital are also on staff at Kentucky Children’s Hospital. Children who require inpatient hospital care will be admitted to Kentucky Children’s Hospital and cared for by the same physicians they are familiar with and trust.
Construction on the new medical center for Shriners Hospitals for Children — Lexington continues to be right on schedule. The pedestrian pedway connected to the parking garage of University of Kentucky Albert B. Chandler Hospital is complete. Additionally, the dichroic glass on the outside of the building is being installed. Modern day dichroic glass, meaning two colored, is available as a result of research conducted by NASA and its contractors to protect the astronauts and equipment from harmful rays while in space. Its beautiful reflective appearance gives the impression that the glass is changing colors before your eyes and provides a soothing effect to all.
