Children’s hospital to spend $135 million grant on upgrades

Loma Linda University Children’s Hospital has received a $135 million state grant that will pay for six major projects, including construction of a pediatric medical office building.

The grant, announced recently, is the largest ever given out by the California Health Facilities Financing Authority, according to statement on the hospital’s website.

A division of the state treasurer’s office, the authority provides financial assistance to public and non-profit healthcare providers through loans, grants, and tax-exempt bonds.

The pediatric building, which will house 23 subspecialty clinics that already operate within the hospital, will be able to accommodate an estimated 15,000 patients a year, according to the statement.

Other projects include:

• Expand the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. Nine beds will be added, which will allow the hospital to serve 150 more patients a year;
• Move and expand the Pediatric Hematology/Oncology Infusion Center. This will allow the children’s hospital to provide 11,700 infusions annually;
• Renovation of the pediatric operating rooms, all of which are more than 30 years old. Time between surgeries will be decreased, allowing for an estimated 250 more surgeries a year;
• Addition of a 48-bed pediatric psychiatric inpatient unit, which will handle more than 2,600 admissions annually;
• Reimbursement of equipment including a surgical robot used for minor surgeries.

The children’s hospital is a 364-bed acute-care facility that serves about 1.2 million children, according to the statement.