Our Lady of the Lake Children’s Hospital Breaks Ground on New Facility

By Alex Girda, Associate Editor

Baton Rouge, La. – A brand new children’s hospital is breaking ground in Baton Rouge as Our Lady of the Lake Children’s Hospital is expanding the amount of care it is able to provide in the area. The pediatric care leader helps children in Mississippi and Texas, as well as Louisiana, where it currently has a network of clinics in Baton Rouge, Hammond, Gozales, Lafayette, and Monroe.

Our Lady of the Lake Children’s Hospital – project rendering

Our Lady of the Lake Children’s Hospital’s new facility will offer 350,000 square feet of space and will include inpatient beds, a pediatric emergency room, surgical unit, a dedicated hematology/oncology unit, and playrooms on every floor. Plans are also in for a four-story, 95,000-square-foot medical office building that will house a host of pediatric medical specialists, right next to the six-story hospital. About 60 pediatric medical subspecialists are currently providing care in a wide variety of medical specialties as of now, with the construction of the new facilities accommodating a considerable increase in the number of jobs. Further diversification of medical care is also an important effect of the hospital’s development.

The entity operates as a hospital within a hospital model inside Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center. With construction now finally underway, the project is set for completion in late 2018. Construction costs for both structures will come in $230 million, with the funding coming from philanthropy and ongoing health and wellness programs that are being carried out by the system. Roughly $25 million have been raised up to this point, Our Lady of the Lake Foundation President John Paul Funes said in a press statement.

Rendering courtesy of Our Lady of the lake Children’s Hospital