Stony Brook University celebrated the opening of the new Stony Brook Children’s Hospital on October 17 with a ribbon-cutting ceremony. This new hospital will expand Stony Brook’s capacity to meet kids’ health needs across Long Island. The hospital is designed with kids in mind, and will feature separate child and teen playrooms, common areas like an outdoor garden, and a classroom with WiFi so students can keep up with their schoolwork. Even the menus will be kid-focused. Families and visitors can find support and comfort in the new Ronald McDonald Family Room.
“The new hospital was designed with patients at the center of our thinking and planning, to promote their safety, well-being and healing,” said Margaret M. McGovern, M.D., Ph.D., Knapp Professor of Pediatrics and Physician-in-Chief, Stony Brook Children's Hospital. ”When it opens, Stony Brook will be the only children’s hospital on Long Island with all single-patient rooms, which will allow us to combine the best practices in modern pediatric medicine with a child-first, family-first philosophy.”
Research supports the idea that being cared for in a child-friendly environment supports better outcomes for children. But the hospital isn’t just child-focused–patients actually have the chance to control their own environment through special multicolored wall lights, which gives them a sense of control in a situation that usually provides anything but. Long Island artists have also helped make the hospital welcoming with nautical-themed art, including a lighthouse and a wall-sized feed from the Long Island Aquarium.
Delaney Unger, a 13-year-old Osteosarcoma survivor who received a unique amputation called rotationplasty in the spring of 2017 at Stony Brook Children’s, praised the hospital staff who cared for her.
“It became my second home,” Delaney said. “During my time there, the doctors, nurses and Child Life [Specialists] became family to me. They were there for me with whatever I needed to make me as comfortable as I could be. They were always there with a smile to make me feel better.”
A community open house for the hospital is slated for November 2 from 10am-2pm. The hospital offers kids and families more than 180 pediatric specialists who focus on more than 30 specialties. For more information on the new facilities and care, visit Stony Brook Children’s website.
