A Conversation with Dave Rosenbaum, Le Bonheur's vice president for buildings.  Dave Rosenbaum is responsible for all Le Bonheur construction.  He answers some common questions. 

When will the new Le Bonheur be open for my child?
We are in the construction process now and the new hospital is scheduled to be open for patients in the summer of 2010.

What does a new hospital mean to me?
All inpatient care will be in the new part of the hospital.  That means that all the patient rooms, specialty units and gathering spaces will be located there.  The new hospital will feature the latest in equipment and design to make it patient- and family-friendly.  We want to build the new Le Bonheur to make our patients' and their families' stay as easy on them as possible.   

Why does the building cost so much?
Le Bonheur's current building is dated and needs to be updated to accommodate the latest in technology and medical equipment.  The building does cost a lot because of the cost of specialty construction materials needed for various units, the technology required and the design needed.  We want to design a hospital that will stand the test of time.  We want to make sure we build it right the first time and provide ways to easily update the hospital to accommodate technology of the future. 

How should I come to Le Bonheur during the construction?
We do not anticipate any problems getting to Le Bonheur during construction.  The new hospital site is surrounded by a fence that will contain all the construction work.  Check the directions section of this site for more information about the best way to get to Le Bonheur. 

Who is building the new Le Bonheur? 
There are many people involved in building Le Bonheur.  The first people responsible are the doctors, nurses and staff at Le Bonheur who care for children every day.  Our patients and families are important builders of the new Le Bonheur.  We have had outstanding community support from donors and community leaders.  We have some great firms partnering with us to build the new Le Bonheur.  Architects are FKP Architects and Self Tucker Architects, Inc. Our construction partner is Skanska USA.  See the design profiles section for more information. 

What if you outgrow this hospital?
We are carefully planning for future growth and have space planned for expansion.  We are also building technology platforms in the new Le Bonheur that will have the capability to accommodate the next generation of technology to best serve our patients.  We know we will eventually outgrow the new facility and are working to make future expansions as seamless as possible.