A few months back we 
had the incredible and rare opportunity to take a “behind the scenes” tour of Children’s Hospital.
In an effort to reach out to the community, Children’s Hospital invited BirminghamMommy.com along with several other local bloggers and media sources to get a first hand look at what goes on behind the scenes in the 10th busiest pediatric medical center in the United States. Our Children’s hospital, founded in 1911 with just 12 beds, is now one of only approximately 45 freestanding acute care hospitals of its kind in the nation and the only hospital in Alabama that is dedicated solely to the care and treatment of children.
We were so pleased to see some of the exciting things going on. The construction is obvious, the building is getting bigger and improving in so many ways. One of the ways that we were shown was private NICU rooms. Instead of having one large NICU with all of the babies in it, Children’s is listening to the requests of the population they serve and providing a private room for each baby complete with isolette, a twin bed, and seating. That is a huge deal to any parents who have ever had a baby in the NICU!
We also had the chance to fly in the helicopter (EEEK! It was amazing!) and learn more about how Children’s serves not only our area, but our region. It is truly touching to hear stories about how people pull together to provide children quality care. One thing we learned is that when a child is flown, the parent doesn’t get to fly with them. The flight staff not only safely transports the sick child, but also provides a loving and caring environment for any fearful fliers.
We drive by the building all the time. We may have even had an experience with our children in the hospital. It’s only when we stand back and take it all in that we really realize what a hard job it is to work at Children’s. Rewarding? Of course. Emotionally draining? You bet. We’d like to thank the entire staff of Children’s for letting us learn more, and for the reminder of the hard work happening right here in Birmingham for children of Alabama.
