Morgan Stanley – Children’s Hospital of New York Presbyterian - Emergency Department

Poltronieri Tang & Associates and Davis Brody Bond have been selected to design the proposed new Pediatric Emergency Department at the Children’s Hospital of New York Presbyterian. 

The pediatric ED is currently located immediately adjacent to the adult emergency department with access from 168th Street, and has seen enormous growth in its utilization during the last few years.  Its new location on the basement level of the recently constructed Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital Building will provide the department with a dedicated pediatric ambulance entrance off of 165th Street.  It will also allow for easy and private transfer of patients via patient transport elevators directly to pediatric bed units and diagnostic and treatment services.  This location will streamline the functional connection between the pediatric trauma team and the trauma suite.  The CHONY Emergency Department is the only approved Level 1 pediatric trauma program in New York City, and was ranked the fifth best pediatric emergency department in the country by Kids Magazine in their 2005 hospital survey. (Photo credit: David Lamb Photography)

Operational goals for the new pediatric ED that impacted its design were outlined during programming and planning phases, and include:

• Reduced wait time for triage.

• Reduced wait time for examination and treatment.

• Reduced number of transfers out of emergency department for diagnostic and treatment services.

• Reduced number of steps in the patients experience; minimized redundancy of patient information gathering.

• Reduced number of medications errors.

• Development of effective strategies to adjust for inpatient bed availability.

• Development of operational plans to accommodate increased patient load during periods of high ED utilization.

• Increased frequency of staff hand washing.

• Improved staff morale and retention through enhanced work environment.

• Increased housekeeping involvement in treatment room cleaning and turnover efficiency.

• Improved location of supplies, equipment, medications, etc. to minimize staff time away from patients.

• Improved overall effectiveness and efficiency by exploiting capabilities of new technologies, such as wireless nurse call and paperless charting.

Design of the new emergency department will extend the children’s literature theme that was central to the design of the recently completed inpatient building.  Reception and nursing stations will be designed as a “children’s library” and feature child-accessible bookshelves. Waiting areas will include family reading nooks in addition to a storyteller’s room.  Forty private and ten specialty treatment rooms will feature illustrations from various children’s books as well as artwork provided by children from the surrounding community. Since the vast majority of ED visits take place in the evening and throughout the night, design of ceilings within the unit will employ nighttime sky imagery.