I can actually say I’ve by no means attended a groundbreaking ceremony fairly just like the Mar. 27 groundbreaking for the Johns Hopkins All Kids’s Hospital (JHACH) now starting building on the northwest nook of Overpass Rd. and McKendree Rd. within the “Linked Metropolis” in Wesley Chapel.
With perhaps 200 folks in attendance (picture left), hospital president Okay. Alicia Schulhof launched most of the principals concerned within the Johns Hopkins Well being System and All Kids’s Hospital, just a few of whom (together with Schulhof herself) introduced alongside younger individuals who had beforehand been handled at JHACH. It turned the groundbreaking from one thing that may have been “simply one other” ceremony into one thing that not solely tugged at your heartstrings but in addition clearly demonstrated how fantastic and essential having a world-class pediatric hospital in Wesley Chapel can be.
Including to the enjoyment you couldn’t assist however really feel that day was the truth that the brown grime pile normally dug into at these occasions was changed with seven piles of brightly coloured sand (high picture on this web page) to match the seven colours within the JHACH brand, with not solely the hospital principals turning shovels stuffed with the sand but in addition the children themselves. It was electrical!
Schulhof opened the occasion, accompanied by former JHACH affected person Xavier and his youthful brother Zander (picture beneath).
“Right this moment, we’re not simply breaking floor for a brand new facility,” Schulhof stated, “we’re laying a basis for a more healthy future for our neighborhood, our sufferers and generations to return.”
Earlier than she launched Zander (with microphone), Schulhof stated, “These brothers are fairly conversant in our hospital and providers, so we glance to them and our different children and households in our care so we are able to hear straight about their experiences and their kids’s hospital.”
Younger Zander spoke on behalf of his older brother. “I feel it’s good and nice,” Zander stated of JHACH. “I feel [the new hospital] will assist different kids really feel higher…to allow them to exit and look into the precise future and…be capable of love one another.” He added that, to him, one of the best factor about JHACH was, “How the nurses assist children really feel higher.”
Schulhof then thanked all the dignitaries in attendance (together with Dist. 2 Pasco County Commissioner Seth Weightman), in addition to the members of the Wiregrass Ranch Excessive orchestra, who supplied the music for the occasion.
She additionally famous that Pasco County is among the many quickest rising areas within the Tampa Bay space (in addition to within the state and the nation) , with pediatric development of 12% anticipated between 2023 and 2032, and that 93% of sufferers residing in Pasco, Hernando and Citrus counties must journey outdoors of their marketplace for pediatric specialty care.
“That’s why we bought this stunning 112 acres we’re all sitting on, to construct a 56-bed hospital with 16 rooms for emergency providers and room to develop,” Schulhof stated. “The advanced will start with 4 imaging rooms and 4 working rooms and help providers. The Wesley Chapel hospital is not going to solely improve our skill to ship cutting-edge medication and coverings, but in addition foster an setting the place sufferers really feel supported, cared for and revered.”
She then turned the mic over to Kevin Sowers, the president of the Johns Hopkins Well being System and his particular visitor, Aubrey (picture beneath). Along with Aubrey, Sowers introduced with him, “Greetings from our 45,000 staff throughout the states of Maryland and Florida, and from Washington, D.C., and our colleagues ‘throughout the pond,’ too, the place we even have relationships.”
Sowers additionally talked about that the medical care at JHACH is, “the intersection of the place we deliver training for the subsequent era of suppliers and the analysis that creates the inspiration of what Johns Hopkins has been for greater than 125 years that’s about to return to your neighborhood.” (Observe-JHACH was ranked because the #1 pediatric hospital in Florida by a 2024-25 U.S. Information & World Report survey.)
He then launched Aubrey, whom Schulhof stated has been a JHACH affected person since she was two years outdated. “I’m glad you’re going to change into a nurse, however Aubrey additionally serves on our Teen Advisory Council, which has been actively engaged within the growth of this facility.” He then requested Aubrey concerning the position she has performed in that growth.
“I’ve gotten to view a few of the mock-ups of the rooms and make adjustments to a few of the interiors and exteriors. For instance, while you’re within the hospital, it will possibly really feel very isolating, so the Teen Council needed locations for the sufferers to have the ability to go outdoors, with a backyard, flowers and issues to do. We additionally obtained so as to add color-changing LED lights to all the affected person rooms….There additionally can be a sensory room, in one of many rooms downstairs.”
Sowers additionally famous that All Kids’s joined Johns Hopkins in 2011 and the identify was modified to JHACH in 2016. “And, through the one centesimal anniversary of Johns Hopkins in 2027, we are going to open the doorways to your hospital in your neighborhood.”
Congratulations! We are able to’t wait ‘til you open!
For extra details about Johns Hopkins All Kids’s Hospital Wesley Chapel, go to HopkinsMedicine.org.
