New U-M Children's Hospital Ready For Its First Patients

The University Medical Center's new $9,500,000 C. S. Mott Children's Hospital will be open public inspection from 1 to 6 n. Sunday prior to receiving first patients on Sept. 22, jl)i William N. Hubbard Jr., Medical Center director and dean of the U-M Medical School has announced. Yesterday, Dr. Hubbard, Richard J. Hinds, director of the new facility; Edward J. Connors, new director o f University Hospital; Dr. William J. Oliver, chairman of pediatrics; Miss Carolyn P. Stoll, assistant professor of nursing and M o 1 1 nursing supervisor; and Dr. David G. Dickinson, professor of pediatrics, briefed newsmen on the unique 212-bed hospital. Once the patients enter, many of the áreas to be seen by the public on Sunday and viewed by newsman on yesterday's tour will be permanently closed to casual visitors as a safeguard against infection and contamination. During the public open house, a number of departments will have staff members on hand to demónstrate services. Administrators, faculty, nurses and JBflüfllífírfi "f iho v"1l"it1' vices Guild will serve as hosts. Hinds told newsmen that "we have many things in Mott Hospital that are unique. In each room there is a built-in window type bed so the mother can stay with the child while he is in the hospital." Miss Stoll pointed out, however, that it need not necessarily be a mother. "Any close relative of a child or even a close friend if relatives are not available may stay in the room. The purpose is to lessen the apprehension of the child," she said. Also helping to make a pleasant environment for the hospitalized child is a multipurpose room on each patiënt floor. Here children can gather for family-style m e a 1 s , school work, games, movies or entertainment. There will be a teen ward designed especially for teen-agers with the kind of snacks and entertainment people of their age group like. The typical room contains two or four beds which can be elevated electrically, a washroom, and brightly colored furniture. A nurse cali line, allowing the young patiënt to talk directly to the nursing station, televisión outlets and life-support systems - oxygen, vacuüm, air pressure - are built into the wall at each bed pósition. Equipment designed by the Herman Miller Research Corp. of Ann Arbor takes things off the floor and provides for easier handling of linens and other items and more sanitary conditions. Every patiënt will have his own clothes locker, toy drawer, a bulletin board for exhibiting pictures and get-well cards and desk space. A full-scale school program from kindergarten through high school will start at the new hospital on opening day so the children will not fall behind in their regular school work while they are recovering from accidents or illness. The eighth, or top floor, has a chapel for religious services, an outdoor garden terrace with a safety wall of colorful plexiglass panels where picnics will be held in summer; a doctor' s library and a large area for school activities. There is an operating room on each patient floor. One of the five, operating rooms, specificaliy for neurosurgery, is completely encased in electromagnetic shielding to keep out stray radio waves and electrical interference. All will have piped-in music. The C. S. Mott Foundation in Flint gave the U-M an initial $6,000,000 grant in April 1964 to mild the new facility, and contributed $500,000 more in 1965. Construction began in 1966 after two years of detailed planning.