2023 Will be a Year of Growth

Dear Colleagues,

We are looking forward to an exciting year for MU Health Care and the MU School of Medicine. We continue to be on a growth trajectory, and a major part of this growth is the construction of our new Children’s Hospital.

Next week, we will be celebrating the progress we have made thus far with our topping off ceremony, which commemorates the official completion of the building’s structure. You may have noticed a large construction beam located in the lobbies of University Hospital and Women’s Hospital. Staff across our health system have been instrumental in supporting the creation of our new Children’s Hospital, and these beams are an opportunity to sign your name and mark your place in this building’s history.

University Hospital and Women’s Hospital signed beams. — Stop by the lobbies at University Hospital and Women’s Hospital to take a moment to sign the beams. They will be in place to sign through Jan. 17.

On Jan. 18 at 1:30 p.m., please join us at the construction site behind Pershing Hall as we watch and celebrate one of the final beams being placed in our Children's Hospital. Also, enjoy a free fountain drink and a commemorative cup to celebrate the occasion. On Jan. 18, all MU Health Care and MU School of Medicine employees, volunteers and students can show their badge to receive a free drink at Oasis in Women’s Hospital, Essentials and The Grill in University Hospital, and the Atrium Café in the Missouri Orthopaedic Institute during each location’s regular business hours. Wednesday will be such an exciting day for our health system!

This view from the southeast shows progress that is being made on our new Children’s Hospital. — This view from the southeast shows the tremendous progress that is being made on our new Children’s Hospital.

It is hard to believe it has been just over a year since we celebrated the groundbreaking of the hospital in October 2021. Our partners at PARIC | Barton Malow are doing incredible work to bring our vision of a new Children’s Hospital to life before it fully opens in summer 2024. As we rapidly approach opening, we have some major upcoming construction. You may have seen posters on floors throughout the Patient Care Tower (PCT) outlining construction work as we “tie in” the new Children’s Hospital structure to connect it the east side of University Hospital.

Construction crews will use hammer drills to bore holes in the PCT to begin the process of connecting the two buildings. Connection work in the PCT stairwell is underway, and starting on Jan. 23, work will begin on the eighth floor of the PCT, advancing downward by floor. This is scheduled to take four to eight weeks per floor. The crews will primarily work from 7 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday to try to limit noise disruptions, though this work will be noisy – sounding a lot like a leaf blower. Plans are underway to help mitigate noise disruptions as much as possible by providing items such as ear plugs for patients, white noise machines, noise-canceling earmuffs and more.

Construction crews will be physically connecting the new Children’s Hospital structure to the east side of University Hospital to “tie in” this gap between the two buildings.

I appreciate your patience as we navigate through this construction period. While the noise will be disruptive, it is another step toward the completion of our new Children’s Hospital and Birthing Center, which will be a huge asset to the region.

Beyond the connection, we have many more projects this year as we prepare for the opening of the new hospital in 2024. This summer, our dermatology clinic will relocate from the University Physicians Medical Building (UPMB) to a new location at Discovery Park and our neurology clinic will relocate to the second floor of UPMB.

We have even more moves in 2024, such as the relocation of our Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Women's Health offices and Department of Child Health offices to Pershing Hall and Lottes Library, respectively. We will be sharing more information on these and many more projects in the months to come, but in the meantime, please know that I am thrilled that you are alongside us as we continue to grow!