Work begins on Wesley Children’s Hospital facade

Construction for Wesley’s new Children’s Hospital is underway.

The hospital put up scaffolding Monday to renovate the building’s facade and will move the pediatric unit on Sept. 14 in order for construction to start Sept. 24. Wesley already started construction on the pediatric intensive care unit and lobby in mid-August.

The $28 million project is set to open next fall.

The project includes renovation of existing space, but the pediatric intensive care unit will gain some additional beds from the redesign and relocation of some labs and offices.

“We’re investing in the future of our pediatrics,” said Tripp Owings, chief operating officer for Wesley Children’s Hospital.

Owings said since this spring, Wesley hired eight medical providers for the Children’s Hospital: one cardiologist, one intensivist, one pediatric surgeon and three hospitalists.

Owings said some of those hires replaced retired doctors.

He and Brian Pate, chair of pediatrics for KU School of Medicine Wichita, said they hope to recruit doctors for specialty pediatric care not yet offered in the Wichita area. Those areas include lung, urinary and emergency doctors for children.

Wesley has emergency pediatric doctors, but wants to add more.

Pate and Owings also said they hope to recruit more general pediatric doctors, surgeons and hematologist-oncologists – doctors for blood diseases and cancers.

Wesley and KU partner with one another for the pediatrics department. The medical providers at Wesley are often employed by KU, but work similarly to Wesley-employed medical providers.

Pate and Owings said the partnership helped attract doctors to the area because of the flexibility in employment options.

Pate said the hires thus far bring more of an integrated approach to pediatric care.

“They’re not brand new medicines in Wichita, but they’ll all be under one roof,” he said.

This story was originally published August 31, 2015 at 6:06 PM with the headline "Work begins on Wesley Children’s Hospital facade."