Lurie Children's Hospital facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago
Geography
Location	225 East Chicago Avenue, Chicago, Illinois, United States
Coordinates	41°53′47″N 87°37′19″W / 41.89639°N 87.62194°W / 41.89639; -87.62194
Organization
Funding	Non-profit hospital
Hospital type	Teaching
Affiliated university	Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
Services
Emergency department	Level 1 Pediatric Trauma Center
Helipad	(FAA LID: 75IS)
Beds	312
Speciality	Children / Pediatrics
History
Founded	1882

Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago, often called Lurie Children's, is a top children's hospital in Chicago, Illinois. It used to be known as Children's Memorial Hospital. This hospital is special because it focuses on helping babies, kids, teens, and young adults up to age 21. It has 360 beds and works closely with the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.

Lurie Children's offers many different kinds of medical care for children. It even has a special Level 1 Pediatric Trauma Center, which is a place that helps kids with very serious injuries. The hospital is located on Northwestern University's campus in Streeterville. More than 1,665 doctors and 4,000 staff members work there. There's also a helipad on the roof to bring very sick children to the hospital quickly.

In 2018, the hospital helped over 212,000 children from 48 states and 49 countries. Lurie Children's is known for its 70 different pediatric (kid-focused) medical specialties. It has many locations across the Chicago area. In the 2019–2020 U.S. News & World Report rankings, Lurie Children's was named the best children's hospital in Illinois. It ranked high in all 10 medical specialties.

Hospital History and Growth

How the Hospital Started

The hospital began in 1882 as the Maurice Porter Memorial Hospital. It was a small, 8-bed cottage for children aged 3 to 13. A nurse and mother named Julia Foster Porter started it after her 13-year-old son passed away. The first location was in Chicago, at Halsted and Belden streets.

Just two years later, in 1884, Julia Porter bought another property. She built a new, three-story hospital with 22 beds. By 1896, the hospital grew again, offering 50 beds for children.

In 1903, a generous gift allowed the hospital to buy a large piece of land. A new Maurice Porter Children's Hospital was built there. This location in Chicago's Lincoln Park neighborhood served the community for 130 years.

The hospital changed its name in 1904 to Children's Memorial Hospital (CMH). A few years later, in 1907, a local helper named John Borland gave the hospital an X-ray machine.

Children's Memorial Hospital, 735 Fullerton Avenue in 1922

By 1908, the hospital had 108 beds. They opened the "Cribside Pavilion," which meant they could now care for babies too. In 1912, CMH expanded again to 175 beds. People in the community gave money to help the hospital. This allowed them to keep providing free care to children.

The Martha Wilson Memorial Pavilion in 1945

In 1926, CMH built the "Martha Wilson Memorial Pavilion." This brought the total number of beds to 272. They also built a home for nurses and interns nearby.

During the 1940s, doctors at CMH became leaders in pediatric surgery. Surgeons Willis J. Potts and Sidney Smith created new tools and a new surgery. This surgery helped treat a heart condition called blue baby syndrome.

In 1957, the hospital decided it needed a new, modern building. Demolition began in 1960 to make way for new patient rooms, research areas, and offices. The new patient tower opened in 1962, followed by the research tower in 1963. In the 1960s, CMH also opened one of the country's first pediatric intensive care units (PICU) with 10 beds.

The main tower of what was then Children's Memorial Hospital in 2016

In 1979, Ray Kroc, who started McDonald's, donated money to the hospital. This helped build the "Ray A. Kroc Diagnostic and Treatment Center." It included new operating rooms, a 25-bed emergency department, and a radiology area. In 1982, CMH added four more floors to the main hospital. One of these floors became a special unit for newborns (NICU). A new helipad was also added to the roof. In the same year, CMH doctors successfully separated conjoined twins who were joined at their pelvises.

The former hospital site being taken down

After many years, the hospital decided to move to a new location. The old buildings in Lincoln Park sat empty for a while. In 2016, the former Children's Memorial Hospital buildings were taken down. New apartments and shops are being built there now.

A New Hospital Campus

On June 9, 2012, the hospital moved to its current location in Streeterville. It was a big move, with 200 children being safely transported by ambulance. The move took over 10 hours. At this time, the hospital also changed its name to Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago. This new name honored Ann Lurie and her late husband. Ann Lurie gave $100 million in 2007 to help build the new hospital and support its research. This was the largest gift the hospital had ever received.

The move helped the hospital be closer to its partner, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. This helps doctors and researchers work together better. It also makes it easier for babies from the nearby Prentice Women's Hospital to get quick care.

Clearing land for the Ann and Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital

The new building cost $605 million and was finished in June 2012. It has 23 floors and was designed by several architecture firms. The new hospital was planned to have a helipad on the roof for urgent patient transport. Some local residents were worried about noise and safety, but the hospital won a lawsuit that allowed the helipad to be built.

The rooftop helipad of Lurie Children's Hospital

The hospital's design is very special. For example, the emergency room is on the second floor. The new building has almost double the space of the old hospital. It includes nice features like outdoor areas for patients and families, playrooms, and private patient rooms. The hospital also has terraces with plants and trees to help patients and families feel calm.

In October 2014, the hospital started its "Hope and Courage awards." These awards recognize people who have done great things to help children's health.

In 2016, Lurie Children's announced plans for a $51 million expansion. This would add 44 more beds for intensive care and four more beds for newborns. The hospital needed more beds because it was often full.

Alex Pancoe (right) raising the Lurie Children's flag on the summit of Mt Everest in May 2019

In 2019, Alex Pancoe, who was treated at Lurie Children's for a brain tumor when he was in college, climbed Mount Everest. He did this to raise money for the hospital, hoping to collect $1 million.

In March 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Lurie Children's Hospital helped other hospitals. They took in children from other hospitals so those hospitals could make space for adult COVID-19 patients. In April 2020, Lurie Children's also loaned out many of its ventilators to adult hospitals that needed them.

In December 2020, doctors at Lurie Children's used a new gene therapy. They treated a baby with a muscle disease called type 1 Spinal Muscular Atrophy. In early 2021, Lurie Children's and Rush University Medical Center (RUMC) announced they would work together. This partnership, called "Lurie Children's & Rush Advancing Children's Health," aims to provide even better care for children in the region.

About Lurie Children's Hospital

Medical Education

Lurie Children's is the main teaching hospital for children's medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. This means doctors who are still learning (residents and fellows) get their training there. The Feinberg School is a highly-ranked medical school in the country.

Research and Discovery

The hospital has had a formal research program for children since 1982. It was first called the Children's Memorial Research Center. When the hospital moved in 2012, the research part was renamed the Lurie Children's Research Institute.

In 2014, a helper named Stanley Manne gave a donation. Because of this, the research institute was renamed the Stanley Manne Children's Research Institute. In 2019, the institute moved to the Simpson Querrey Biomedical Research Center at Northwestern University.

Patient Care Units

Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago has many different units to care for children from birth to age 21.

• 48 beds for general medical care
• 40 beds in the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU)
• 48 beds for children with blood disorders and cancer
• 44 beds for heart conditions
• 64 beds in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) for newborns
• 45 beds in the emergency department
• 23 beds for before and after surgery
• 12 beds in the psychiatric unit for ages 3–17

The hospital also has 21 operating rooms and a special "sky garden." This garden helps families relax while their child is being treated.

Ronald McDonald House

The Ronald McDonald House Near Lurie Children's Hospital opened in 2012. It's about five blocks from the hospital. This house has 70 private rooms for families of children being treated at Lurie Children's. It also helps families of newborns at Prentice Women's Hospital and children getting rehabilitation at Shirley Ryan AbilityLab. The house offers free places to sleep, meals, and fun activities for siblings and families.

Lurie Children's also has a Ronald McDonald family room inside the hospital. This room has nine sleep rooms, showers, and other comforts for families.

History of the Ronald McDonald House

Before Lurie Children's moved, there was a 21-room Ronald McDonald House near the old hospital. When Lurie Children's moved to Streeterville, a new, 14-story Ronald McDonald House was built. It cost $40 million. Nine rooms were also built right inside the Lurie Children's building. The old house near the former hospital was later taken down.

In August 2018, a company called AbbVie gave $100 million to Ronald McDonald House charities across the country. $3 million of that was for the Chicago houses. In November 2019, the house added four more rooms to help more families.

Awards and Recognition

• Lurie Children's was the first children's hospital in the country to receive the Magnet designation in 2001. This award recognizes excellent nursing care. They have received it four times, in 2001, 2005, 2010, and 2015. Less than one percent of all hospitals have earned this award three or more times.
• When the new hospital opened in 2012, it earned a LEED Gold certification. This means it was built using environmentally-friendly methods, like having a green roof.
• In 2012, the magazine Modern Healthcare gave the hospital a design award for its advanced building design.
• Lurie Children's is one of only 10 children's hospitals in the U.S. to be named a "Top Hospital" for patient safety by The Leapfrog Group. This group works to make hospitals safer for patients.
• The Joint Commission, which checks healthcare organizations, named the hospital one of the top performers for quality care. They specifically recognized the hospital for its care of children with asthma.
• In 2014, Becker's Hospital Review listed the hospital as one of the "150 Great Places to Work in Healthcare."
• In July 2016, the hospital became the first children's hospital in Illinois to be named a Level 1 pediatric surgery center by the American College of Surgeons. Only 24 hospitals nationwide have this special designation.
• In both 2019 and 2020, Forbes Magazine named Lurie Children's a "best midsize employer" and a "best employer in Illinois." In 2020, the hospital was also recognized for its advanced use of technology in healthcare.

U.S. News & World Report Rankings

U.S. News & World Report ranks hospitals each year. Here's how Lurie Children's has been ranked:

• In 2007–08, Children's Memorial Hospital was ranked #25 best children's hospital in the U.S.
• In 2010–11, Children's Memorial Hospital ranked in the top 20 for many specialties, including #10 for pediatric cancer and #5 for pediatric urology.
• In 2016–17, the hospital was ranked #6 among only 11 children's hospitals nationwide to make the Honor Roll.
• In 2018–19, it was ranked as the #10 best children's hospital in the country on the Honor Roll.
• As of 2021, Lurie Children's has been nationally ranked in all 10 pediatric specialties that U.S. News & World Report evaluates.

Notable People Connected to Lurie Children's

Many important doctors and medical professionals have worked at or trained at Lurie Children's Hospital or its former name, Children's Memorial Hospital.

• Robert Satcher – A former doctor and NASA Astronaut.
• Susan L. Cohn – A doctor and chief of pediatric oncology at Comer Children's Hospital, who trained here.
• John F Sarwark – The head of pediatric orthopedics at Lurie Children's.
• Willis J. Potts – A pioneer in pediatric surgery at Children's Memorial Hospital.
• Orvar Swenson – A former chief surgeon at Children's Memorial Hospital.
• Frank Spooner Churchill – President of the medical staff at Children's Memorial Hospital from 1909 to 1917.
• Stephen Dolgin – An American pediatric surgeon who trained here.
• Wolf W. Zuelzer – A pediatric pathologist who completed his residency here.
• Rebekah D. Fenton – An American doctor who works in Adolescent and Young Adult Medicine at Lurie Children's.
• Marc Weissbluth – An American pediatrician and author who trained here.
• George J. Mohr – Completed his pediatric internship at Children's Memorial Hospital.
• Nadia Dowshen – An American pediatrician who completed her fellowship at Lurie Children's.
• Ellen Sidransky – An American pediatrician who completed her residency at Lurie Children's.

See Also

• List of children's hospitals in the United States
• Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
• Northwestern Memorial Hospital
• Advocate Children's Hospital