NYU Langone opens pavilion with robots, single rooms and customizable digital care

Hassenfeld Children’s Hospital is the only pediatric inpatient facility in Manhattan with all single-patient rooms. (PRNewsfoto/NYU Langone Health)

On June 24, NYU Langone Health will open the doors to a new inpatient facility, the Helen L. and Martin S. Kimmel Pavilion, adding significantly to the healthcare space in New York City and offering private rooms for all patients. The building includes Hassenfeld Children’s Hospital—34th Street, the first children’s hospital built in New York City in nearly 15 years and NYU Langone’s new flagship location for pediatric inpatient care. The opening of this new facility marks the largest and most extensive revitalization in NYU Langone Health’s storied history.

“The opening of our new Kimmel Pavilion and Hassenfeld Children’s Hospital location is the culmination of more than a decade of planning and construction, reflecting our overall vision to grow as a world-class, patient-centered, integrated academic health system focused on quality and excellence in clinical care, education and research,” said Robert I. Grossman, MD, Saul J. Farber Dean and chief executive officer of NYU Langone.

As one of the largest construction projects in Manhattan, NYU Langone’s campus transformation initiative adds 1.2 million square feet of new building space to its main campus on the East Side of Manhattan. In addition to the Kimmel Pavilion, the new construction includes the Science Building, a new state-of-the-art research facility that opened earlier this year and accommodates up to 800 biomedical researchers, and the Energy Building, the centerpiece of NYU Langone’s plan to become a resilient health system and a leader in sustainability.

Buzz OR/AV Management is a high-resolution display that integrates several information systems to allow surgeons and other members of the care team in our state-of-the-art operating rooms to visualize a case in real-time, and even interact with pathologists in the lab. (PRNewsfoto/NYU Langone Health)

Kimmel Pavilion: Private, Single-Bedded Rooms, Open Design, and Stunning Views of Manhattan

The Kimmel Pavilion adds 21 stories and 830,000 square feet, including 11 patient floors, to NYU Langone’s hospital space. It includes 374 exclusively single-bedded rooms to give patients and their families privacy, reduce the risk of infection, and improve staff workflow.

“We take a holistic view of creating environments of the highest quality for our patients and families,” says Vicki Match Suna, AIA, senior vice president and vice dean for Real Estate Development and Facilities (RED+F) at NYU Langone. “Recognizing that design greatly impacts the patient experience and can have positive effects on health outcomes, these new spaces have been thoughtfully planned with warm and welcoming environments that encourage overall health and wellbeing, where patients can find comfort and draw inspiration from their surroundings. It is designed to give them, and their loved ones, abundant access to natural light, nature and open space. Outdoor settings like landscaped gardens for all to enjoy, roof terraces that provide beautiful views of the East River and New York City, and the integration of artwork throughout the building are all intended to enhance one’s connection with the environment and create a sense of engagement, comfort and calm. These features of the overall design offer opportunities for moments of mental and physical peace.”

Kimmel includes 30 operating rooms and image-guided labs, with acute care and critical care services in hematology/oncology, bone marrow and solid organ transplantation, neuroscience, surgery, and cardiothoracic care, as well as medicine and surgery units. It connects at multiple levels to NYU Langone’s Tisch Hospital, with amenities that include a new outdoor terrace, café, coffee bar, retail pharmacy, and conference center.

Hassenfeld Children’s Hospital: Only Pediatric Inpatient Facility in Manhattan with all Single-Patient Rooms

Taking up several floors of Kimmel and accessible through its own entrance, Hassenfeld Children’s Hospital—34th Street is a 160,000-square-foot facility with 68 single-patient rooms—the only pediatric inpatient facility with this feature in Manhattan.

More than 400 doctors from 35 specialties provide inpatient and outpatient care for common and complex childhood conditions, including a Pediatric Intensive Care Unit and Congenital Cardiovascular Care Unit; surgery services; cardiac catheterization, electrophysiology, and bronchoscopy labs; positive and negative pressure isolation units; procedural and surgical services; and the KiDS Emergency Department.

The space features colorful artwork inspired by the theme of New York City from a child’s eyes—like a replica of the Statue of Liberty made entirely of LEGO® bricks and a three-story sculpture of a Dalmatian balancing a taxicab on it nose—as well as a “MyWall” interactive screen in every child’s patient room, and dedicated areas for children of all ages including a Teen Room, a Multisensory Playroom, an Expressive Arts Room, and Skyline Studio, a broadcast hub where children can create their own multimedia productions.

In addition, there are a variety of activities for kids and their loved ones during their stay, including theater and music performances, game and movie nights, and yoga and relaxation groups for parents. Families have access to many amenities at the Family Resource Lounge, including laundry facilities, showers, a family lounge, snack center and computer work stations.

“Hassenfeld Children’s Hospital’s mission is guided by unparalleled commitment to partnering with children and families. Everyone, from doctors to nurses to support staff, is dedicated to making sure that children are put at ease, that parents’ voices are heard, and that the entire family knows their children aren’t just cared for, but cared about,” says Catherine S. Manno, MD, Pat and John Rosenwald Professor of Pediatrics and Chair of the Department of Pediatrics.

Hassenfeld Children’s Hospital—34th Street was designed with input from the Youth Advisory Council and Family Advisory Council, made up of children who have undergone treatment at NYU Langone and their family members, and facilitated by the Sala Institute for Child and Family Centered Care, a unique partnership between children, families, and health professionals that is focused on advancing the practice of family-centered care at Hassenfeld Children’s Hospital.

Setting the Standard for a Digital Patient Experience Across the Country

Kimmel opens as one of the most technologically integrated, digitally sophisticated hospitals in the country, with many new innovations that can only be found at NYU Langone. Designed to integrate seamlessly with a patient’s electronic health record (EHR), the technologies implemented at NYU Langone over the past decade set a new standard for hospitals across the country.

“We’re extremely proud of technological systems we’ve built and deployed, which are truly first of their kind and represent a step forward for the medical field. Patients expect a digital experience in their daily lives, and now they expect it from their care teams and hospitals,” says Nader Mherabi, senior vice president and vice dean and chief information officer at NYU Langone. “A suite of the most advanced technologies have been thoughtfully architected and implemented for staff efficiency, maximal patient safety, and a more personalized experience for patients and their families.”

New innovations include:

• MyWall, customized by and for NYU Langone, is a 75-inch, high-resolution electronic display screen in each patient room that allows patients to customize their experience in the hospital. They can learn about their care team and plan, view entertainment, order meals, and control their room’s ambiance and environment, via a tablet.
• A fleet of robots transport meals, linens, supplies, and medication and remove hazardous waste throughout Kimmel, freeing up staff to focus on caring for patients.
• The first of their kind in the nation, Digital Medication Drawers are located outside each patient room and synced to a patient’s electronic health record to ensure they are receiving a personalized inventory of medications. This improves the efficiency and safety of medication management and administration, which data from health systems nationwide shows is one of the most difficult processes to manage.
• Buzz OR/AV Management is a high-resolution display that integrates several information systems to allow surgeons and other members of the care team in our state-of-the-art operating rooms to visualize a case in real-time, and even interact with pathologists in the lab.
• Clinical Mobile Companions are a suite of unique applications installed on 2,600 mobile devices—designed for convenient use by nurses, doctors and other care team members to provide better quality patient care and improve productivity and communication among the clinical staff. Clinical Mobile Companions were designed by and for NYU Langone.
• Staff Terminal—Nurse Call System is an intelligent call system that allows nurses to stay in contact with patients and the broader care team, improving the flow of communications and decreasing response time while also minimizing errors and other tasks that might draw nurses away from patient care.

A Resilient, Sustainable, & Energy Independent Campus

After the flooding caused by Hurricane Sandy, NYU Langone has taken the opportunity to ensure its campus is resilient in the case of extreme weather events and reduce its energy emissions through clean and efficient energy use. The new buildings create a wall that allows the campus to hold back the East River in the event of flooding and operate independent of utility power through onsite production.

The Energy Building houses a cogeneration plant capable of providing an uninterruptable source of power in the event of an emergency and was recently certified under the U.S. Green Building Council’s new resiliency standard, earning the first Platinum certification of its kind. NYU Langone is also the only hospital in the world to win Performance Excellence in Electricity Renewal (PEER) designation, which measures power system performance.

Both the Science Building and Kimmel Pavilion are on track to receive LEED Platinum certification, which signifies the buildings are resource efficient, use less energy and water, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Sustainable elements of these buildings include building materials made from recycled content, efficient use of storm water runoff, and high-tech windows that reduce energy use.

“The Kimmel Pavilion and Hassenfeld Children’s Hospital are linchpins of a broader transformation at NYU Langone Health,” says Match Suna. “Through the use of innovative technological advancements, a comprehensive sustainability and resiliency strategy, and an environment focused on the health and wellness of our patients, visitors, students and staff, we are dramatically reshaping our approach to the practice of medicine on our main campus and beyond, to provide the safest, most advanced, and most compassionate patient-centered care.”