Major Expansion Will Meet Growing Demand
On Tuesday, November 13, 2024, Cook Children's unveiled a major expansion plan designed to meet the growing community demand for pediatric health care and critical care needs.
The 10-year master plan includes a new 700,000-square-foot medical tower, an expanded Neonatal ICU, Pediatric ICU, and more.
Meeting a growing need
Now the 12th largest city in the United States, with 59 people moving to the city daily, the demand for pediatric care is growing … and so are we.
Big Growth Fuels Big Plans
Cook Children's Medical Center has been a fixture in Fort Worth and a trusted leader in pediatric health care for 106 years, consistently rising to meet the needs of the children and families in the communities it serves. To keep pace with current and projected growth in the area, the health system is preparing to meet the moment once again by embarking on a 10-year master plan to expand and enhance its Fort Worth medical center.
"Our place in this world is to be there when kids need us, and to provide that necessary support for that family and that child so that they're able to have as productive of a life as they possibly can," said Stan Davis, president of Cook Children's Medical Center. "So the belief is we do that by having the facilities, having the physicians and caregivers, having the technology, but also having the heart and the commitment of our community and our team to be able to do that when it's necessary. That's why we're here. We stand in the middle of being able to and not being able to provide that necessary critical care."
The new 700,000-square-foot medical tower, known for now as the West Tower, will add another signature blue peak to Cook Children's flagship campus and Fort Worth's skyline. It will be a seamless extension of the existing medical center, connected both above and below ground, and make way for an expansion of the NICU with an additional 37 beds. It also allows for an expansion and redesign of the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU), and increases capacity for Hematology/Oncology services and research, as well as additional operating rooms and imaging services.
"We have capacity issues in these areas we're expanding," Davis said. "We, unfortunately, from time to time have had to divert kids to other places as far away as San Antonio, Oklahoma and Louisiana. We feel like we provide the best care possible for the kids in our community. In order to do that, we need to have the facilities and the accommodations to keep kids here and close to their home."
But Cook Children's isn't just building to increase bed space. It's evolving, innovating and advancing to connect the dots between health care delivery and an enhanced patient and family experience.
"It's an ambitious plan, but it's exactly what we need to support the growing population and demand for services in our area," said Rick W. Merrill, president and CEO of Cook Children's Health Care System. "Kids and families rely on us, and have for more than a century, and we want to make sure we're in a position to continue to be a beacon of hope, where every child receives the care they deserve now and for generations to come."