WVU Medicine Children’s to celebrate one year inside its new hospital on Sept. 29

Attention reporters and editors: To celebrate its first birthday, WVU Medicine Children’s will be holding a breakfast inside the hospital. Media are welcome to attend at 6:30 a.m. on Sept. 28. Interviews will be available with hospital administrators. In addition, Zoom interviews can be scheduled in advance to discuss the advancements that WVU Medicine Children’s has made over the past year. To attend in person or schedule an interview in advance, contact Kathryn Vey at kathryn.vey@wvumedicine.org. 

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – After a year of new spaces, new faces, and new miracles made, it’s time to celebrate at WVU Medicine Children’s Hospital. 

On Thursday, Sept. 28, WVU Medicine Children’s staff will join with patients and their families for a breakfast party in honor of the first year inside the new hospital. 

Sept. 29, 2022, marked a major milestone for all children in West Virginia and beyond, as the first patients moved into the brand-new, state-of-the-art WVU Medicine Children’s Hospital. 

“When we opened the doors to the new Children’s Hospital, we could have never imagined the amount of love and support we received from the community,” Amy L. Bush, B.S.N., M.B.A., R.N., C.N.O.R., chief administrative officer for WVU Medicine Children’s, said. “Our mission is to build healthier futures for our children, and it would not be possible without the extraordinary work of our entire healthcare team and community support. It’s because of them that we will continue to grow and provide exceptional care for all our patients across the region.” 

Changes in the lives of children and their families were almost immediate. In the early hours of the morning, patients settled into one of the 150 rooms and surgeries were performed. 

In its first 100 days, WVU Medicine Children’s Hospital: 

• Completed 15,523 pediatric clinic appointments 
• Birthed 625 babies 
• Performed 1,829 surgeries and procedures

“The first year of operations in our new Children’s Hospital has been incredibly rewarding,” Michael A. Grace, Ed.D., M.B.A., F.A.C.H.E., president of WVU Hospitals, said. “To be able to provide pediatric healthcare services that would have previously required our children to travel out of the state is emblematic of our mission-centric culture and commitment to our people.”

Since then, the growth has only continued. Not only is the hospital improving lives, but the healthcare network is also growing. WVU Medicine Children’s is constantly working to bring healthcare to where patients live and add to its team of specialists. 

“Everything that we do, every meeting that we have, and every project we undertake is aimed toward improving the health of our children. Even though our new hospital is celebrating its first birthday, the Children’s Hospital itself is a gift. It is a gift that the children in our state and region have been very deserving of but have never received,” Jeffrey Lancaster, M.D., associate chief medical officer for WVU Medicine Children’s, said.

“As co-recipients of this gift, the physicians and staff of WVU Medicine Children’s Hospital promise to take care of it, continue to grow it, and share it with our state and communities. Our children’s future has never been brighter.” 

To see what’s been happening in the past year and find where outpatient clinics are located, view the 2022 Annual Report and the Clinic Map. To see a time-lapse video of the construction of Children’s, visit www.youtube.com/watch?v=962FS6RuxV0.  

For more information on WVU Medicine Children’s, visit WVUKids.com.