Children joined community and U-M leaders to celebrate the new C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital and Von Voigtlander Women’s Hospital on Nov. 3 with a dedication and ribbon-cutting ceremony.
President Mary Sue Coleman, U-M Health System CEO Dr. Ora Hirsch Pescovitz, U-M regents with strong ties to the hospital, C.S. Mott Foundation Executive Director Bill White and former Wolverine football coach Lloyd Carr were among those celebrating the hospitals’ opening, scheduled for Dec. 4.
“Our health care providers believe deeply in a healthy, productive future for these children and their families, and our new hospital provides them with the best possible setting for patient care and medical research,” Coleman said. “Combine this with the strength of family and the power of philanthropy, and we have an exceptional environment that embodies the best of the University of Michigan.”
The $754 million, 1.1 million-square-foot facility will be one of the premier pediatric health care centers in the nation when it opens next month. The facility features a 12-story inpatient wing, a nine-story outpatient wing and 348 patient beds in addition to 16 operating rooms and other state-of-the-art clinical facilities.
“With this new hospital we are reaffirming our commitment to providing the most advanced and the highest quality medical care for children, their mothers and families,” Pescovitz said. “We’re demonstrating our unwavering goal to not only be at the forefront of the latest technology, the latest therapies and the latest techniques in pediatric and maternal health care but to be the place that defines what that looks like.”
Miss Michigan Elizabeth Wertenberger, above left, leads a group of children wearing “I am the Michigan Difference” T-shirts into the dedication ceremony for the new C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital. Athletic Director Dave Brandon, below right, one of the co-chairs of the hospitals’ fundraising campaign, addresses attendees at the dedication. Looking on from left are the other co-chairs, Jan Brandon, Laurie Carr and Lloyd Carr. Photos by Eric Bronson, U-M Photo Services.
Of the hospitals’ total cost, about $75 million will be covered through philanthropic donations. Carr and his wife, Laurie, as well as Athletic Director David Brandon and his wife, Jan, who also were at the event, co-chaired the hospitals’ capital campaign.
Gov. Rick Snyder offered his appreciation of the new facility in a video message to the audience.
“It’s exciting to think about what this building holds for tomorrow in medical education, groundbreaking research and unparalleled patient care,” Snyder said. “When we think of critical care for children, we think of Mott. And when we think of Mott, we think of Michigan.”
As the ceremony neared its conclusion, a handful of Mott patients filed into the new hospital lobby carrying a yellow ribbon, which was then cut into pieces by those on stage, including U-M leaders, hospital administrators and donors.
Regent Andrea Fischer Newman spoke of her family’s strong connection to Mott during the ribbon-cutting ceremony; her son was born at the hospital.
“All of the doctors, the nurses, the lab technicians and the many others who make patient care their life’s work have allowed our family to experience, first hand, the high level of care that is the Michigan Difference,” she said.
“I’m so proud to be associated with an institution like the University of Michigan, that would make the health of women and children a priority,” she added. “I’m thankful that we are able to dedicate these phenomenal new facilities that will be known throughout the world for the remarkable care they provide to all who need it.”
