Wolfson Children’s Hospital’s ‘bridge of hope’ to the future
Wolfson Children’s Hospital President Michael Aubin called it a “big deal” when medical center employees made their inaugural trek through the new skybridge over Palm Avenue Oct. 30. The glassed-in pedestrian walkway connects the P2 Parking garage with what will soon be the new Wolfson Children’s Hospital entrance and critical care tower. Although the new critical care tower and entrance to the medical center’s Southbank campus are currently under construction, employees enjoyed a safe jaunt over the bridge, two stories above the street.
“In a project like this, there are certain times when you say this is a major deal,” Aubin said. “The ground-breaking was a major deal. Putting this bridge in place was a major deal, and getting it open so our team can come over and our patients can use it is a major deal. Then, 13 months from now, when we actually get to enter the new building, that will be a major deal,” he said, estimating the new entrance and building will be complete in February 2022.
To celebrate the new edition to the campus Oct. 30, employees were greeted by team members dressed in Halloween costumes, who passed out candy and other goodies as they made their way to work. Heading the welcome effort were Aubin and Baptist Medical Center Jacksonville President Michael Mayo, both of whom were on hand at 7 a.m. to greet employees as they came and went across the bridge during the early morning hours.
“This is an opportunity for us to meet and greet our team members and encourage them to use the new skybridge,” said Mayo. “I look for every opportunity I can to interact with our team members. I am glad we can now provide them with a very safe way to cross Palm Avenue. I am very excited about this being open,” he said, noting that when the building is finished it will lead to the second floor of a two-story welcome area that will serve not only as the main entrance to Wolfson Children’s Hospital but also as the main starting point for all patients and visitors to enter the medical center’s Jacksonville campus.
“The first floor will be the new entry level and the second floor will be the connector that will take you to any part of the campus,” he said, adding that the third through ninth floors will be dedicated to Wolfson’s new neo-natal intensive care and pediatric intensive care units. “We’re expanding our bed capacity from 52 to 75 beds, a 25% increase. Everything will be state of the art. This will be a one-of-a-kind intensive care unit,” Mayo explained.
The new skybridge allows Baptist Health to reimagine the entry point of its main Jacksonville campus, a feature that is currently buried on Prudential Drive. “Once it is finished, our new entry point will be visible off of Palm Avenue and the Interstate,” he said. “The entrance will have four large lanes, valet parking, and easy directions into the P2 garage so people won’t be confused when they come onto the campus for the first time.”
In the new plan, the old rotunda entrance will be used primarily for adult patients who are discharged from Baptist’s adult tower. Children and parents will be discharged from the front of the Wolfson building, while the ramp and circular entrance to the Heart Hospital on Prudential Drive will remain for patients using that facility.
In the front of the new entrance will be green space and a new piece of sculpture, similar to what sits in front of Baptist MD Anderson Cancer Center, said Mayo. “We took a lot of our inspiration and direction from the Baptist MD Anderson building,” he said. “When you come down the Interstate you will see this mirroring of two beautiful healthcare buildings – the new critical care tower and Baptist MD Anderson on the other side. It will make for a nice campus.
“This has been a part of a 10-year plan of development we’ve done by doing different enhancements throughout the campus. It’s kind of a capstone project,” he continued.
For Aubin, the skybridge signifies more than a safe way to enter the campus. “The exciting thing about this bridge – I say it’s a ‘bridge of hope’ – is that when the kids and their parents come over the skybridge and they have neo-natal babies in the hospital, for us it’s that they have hope that this center will make them better. That is really what this is all about. The bridge is great, and it keeps people off the street, but what counts is where it is leading to. That’s what makes the big difference.”
By Marcia Hodgson
Resident Community News
(No Ratings Yet)
Loading... 
