New MUSC children’s hospital one step closer to opening doors

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) - After years of planning, discussion, and construction, MUSC officials will dedicate the new Shawn Jenkins Children’s Hospital facility on Friday.

The 11-story structure will have more than 200 beds for intensive care patients, neonatal intensive care patients, acute care patients, and new and expectant mothers, according to the Medical University of South Carolina.

The room space will also be nearly doubled for families, which has been almost a decade in the making.

“It’s almost 10 years at this point," Patrick J. Cawley, M.D., CEO of MUSC Health, said. "Right from the beginning we decided to build this hospital because we needed the space. We needed this space 10 years ago, we need the space even more today.”

Inside, there are already beds, monitors, tables, and even some artwork up on the walls waiting for kids.

A 22,000-pound rooftop helio-pad is engineered to accommodate the Coast Guard’s new Jayhawk helicopter for emergency and disaster situations. A dedicated “stork” elevator will transport mothers from the hospital’s entrance directly to the fourth-floor maternity pavilion

The state-of-the-art facility will be a leader in patient care innovation.

“This is a really good example for our local community,” Mark Scheurer, M.D., chief medical officer for MUSC Children’s and Women’s Services, said. “Because the hospital is a reflection of our local community, it’s a good reflection of the state and what we can do in South Carolina. It’s maybe a great example for others beyond it’s borders.”

The dedication of the hospital will take place Friday morning at 10 a.m. The hospital is set to open in the next few months with move-in scheduled for October.

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