Rendering courtesy of Shriners Hospitals for Children
Dr. Charles Goldfarb, an orthopedic surgeon at the Washington University School of Medicine, says that when the family of a patient feels comfortable, the patient feels comfortable.
That’s why Goldfarb says the new facility for Shriners Hospitals for Children (2001 S. Lindbergh, 314-432-3600, shrinershospitalsforchildren.org) at 4400 Clayton in the Central West End is exciting for everyone involved.
The new location focuses on promoting every level of healing, which starts with just the right atmosphere for kids to feel as at-home as possible during their stays. But the hospital staff also feels comfortable in its new digs. Goldfarb says most of the staff is based at Washington University, so being on the same campus as the school’s other facilities is key to the efficiency and effectiveness of the hospital.
Shriners first opened in the city in 1924 and then spent five decades in its Frontenac location. The new building provides more room for research and hotel-like rooms for relatives of patients; the estimated cost of construction was $47 million. The new location is licensed for only 12 beds, fewer than the previous site, because most of the procedures are done on an outpatient basis, with no referrals necessary.
“I think the doctors and everyone else are just extraordinarily enthusiastic about the new location, because we now have a state-of-the-art facility to complement our already excellent patient care,” Goldfarb says.
