Penn State Hershey Children's Hospital

Poltronieri Tang & Associates provided healthcare planning and design services, working in collaboration with Payette, for the new Penn State Children’s Hospital at The Milton S. Hershey Medical Center in Hershey, Pennsylvania.  The project encompasses six floor levels totaling 252,000 SF of new construction.

The new building opened in February 2012, and accommodates pediatric clinical services in a consolidated facility with dedicated public and clinical services with support service connections back to the larger medical center.  Key functional components include:

• Ground level public amenities, including welcome desk, children’s safety store, family resource center, a dedicated kitchen and café for the children’s hospital building, meeting rooms and classroom center, multi-purpose performance space and extensive play garden and serenity space
• Dedicated pediatric surgical suite containing comprehensive pediatric pre-op and post-op services, 6 pediatric OR’s, pediatric cardiac cath suite, and shelled space for future imaging services
• Comprehensive inpatient and outpatient pediatric cancer center
• 36-bed pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) / pediatric intermediate care unit (PIMCU)
• Two 18-bed medical-surgical inpatient units with all private patient rooms
• Dedicated pediatric imaging suite
• Medical school support functions
• Integrated clinical research support functions
• Two levels of future vertical expansion will include a 47-bed neonatal intensive care unit and comprehensive obstetrical unit

The design theme for the project calls for a sustainable environment that creates opportunities for users of all ages to:

• Heal through exposure to the beauty, majesty, and grandeur of the natural environment  in and around Central Pennsylvania
• Learn through an environment of continuous discovery and interaction with the building, exhibits, activities, and outdoor environment
• Appreciate, protect, and nurture the environment through learning, education, and creation of a sustainable building

“Poltronieri Tang brings invaluable experience and insight in the design and planning of children's hospitals.  Their advice and guidance were invaluable to us in designing the kind of facility that would serve our patients and our families best.  They have a wonderful perspective that also encompasses the needs of staff in order to function optimally in the family-centered care setting.”

Steven Lucking, MD
Chief of Pediatric Critical Care,
Penn State Children’s Hospital

“Poltronieri Tang has been instrumental in helping us understand what we didn't know or even think about in designing and building a children's hospital.  They are essential in bridging the gap between where we are and where we want to be.”

Matt Wain
Administrator,
Penn State Children’s Hospital

“PT&A led our entire project team through a planning and programming process that educated us about possibilities, and steered us clear of pitfalls. Their breadth of experience allowed us to look beyond our narrow “how-we-do-it-today” mentality so that we were able to make informed decisions about everything from departmental adjacencies to efficient operational models, and appropriate theming design. We now have a building that allows for easy expansion in the coming years and  meets both our operational  and our family-centered care goals.”

Gil Pak
Director of Operations,
Pediatric Support Services,
Penn State Children’s Hospital