The new Children’s Hospital of Atlanta Arthur M. Blank Hospital was opened on Sunday Sept. 29 in Atlanta.
Patients in the now-closed Egleston Hospital were transferred to the newly opened Arthur M. Blank Hospital. 65 ambulances drove 202 patients to the new hospital, and 1,200 team members and 1,000 volunteers helped program this smooth transition for the patients and their families. Hospital officials reported that the move was completed by 7 p.m. that day.
The Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation, named after Home Depot Co-founder and owner of the Atlanta Falcons, Arthur M. Blank donated $200 million in 2020 to help the Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta (CHOA) fund this project.
The project cost $1.5 billion and has provided 116 more beds than Egleston. The new hospital has 19 stories and spans 2 million square feet, allowing more flexibility with Atlanta’s growing population. The removal of an old hotel on that land marked the beginning of the construction in 2020, with its completion in 2024.
Laura Jones is the Children’s Healthcare’s Vice President for Emergency Services, Trauma, Transport, Transfer Center and Special Care Unit. When giving a tour of the facility in May 2024, she said, “It’s been an adventure. We’ve been working on this design and building for the last nine years.”
From 2017 to 2018, CHOA worked on obtaining a Certification of Need to begin planning. In 2018, the organization created the design and construction began two years later. The hospital ended construction this year.
The hospital’s designs were a group effort of not just executives in charge but also therapists, physicians, nurses, and other clinicians. Their input on the design would ensure the best design for taking care of their patients.
Arthur M. Blank Hospital has larger and more private rooms for patients than Egleston to ensure the comfort and privacy of patients and their families. There are family lounges, kitchenettes on every floor, activity rooms for the children and other amenities.
The hospital mentions that “research shows exposure to nature reduces the need for some medications and improves outcomes,” so the facility features more than 20 acres of walking trails and natural space in its design. Over 70% of patient rooms overlook these beautiful views.
In their dedication to testing every aspect of this large project, the organization turned a 114,000-square-foot warehouse into a mock hospital to run simulations. Patient families, operational leaders and clinicians were involved.
Kristen Christensen, a Cardiac Intensive Care Unit (CICU) nurse, was among the 400 who participated. “I’m doing my part to make it the best it can be,” she said. “And that’s exactly what every child deserves.”
CHOA has three hospitals across Georgia, eight urgent care centers and multiple specialty centers ranging from rheumatology centers to technology-dependent intensive care centers.
CHOA’s Heart Center is among the top five pediatric heart facilities in the U.S. regarding the volume of Cardiac Acute Care Units (CACU) and CICU surgeries performed, which is more than 800 cardiac annually.
“We’ll also transfer patients from the Scottish Rite Aflac Cancer and Blood Disorders Center,” Jones said in an interview with GPB News, “because we’re going to consolidate our inpatient hematology services at Arthur M. Blank.”
Mackenzie Madison, third-year NEURO, is a medical scribe for CHOA outside of school. She has worked at Egleston since June 2024 and began her journey at Arthur M. Blank on the second day of its opening.
Her first day was “chaotic” due to the hospital’s size difference. “The emergency center is three times Egleston’s. There are 75 rooms, each with much more space than the previous center.” Along with patients, equipment and databases had to be transferred.
Madison has already seen innovative technology being implemented at the new hospital. Alongside its dedicated team of doctors and nurses, the hospital will be run largely with the help of robots. They will transport medication floor to floor, discard medical waste and deliver linens. Some will have the opportunity to meet with patients and care for them directly by delivering food and medication and performing other tasks. The robots are painted with bright colors and drawings to make the children feel more comfortable with the change and to put a smile on their faces.
Madison finds the new hospital “beautiful,” but it is so big that she often finds herself lost in its halls. She says the community has been one of the biggest supporters of this project, contributing immensely financially and being happy that children can receive the best care possible.
On her first shift, she saw a 4-year-old patient running around the waiting rooms. They were admitted to treat their chronic pain, but in the excitement of the new environment, they were jumping around and giving everyone hugs. This heartwarming sight proves the years of planning to be worth it.