People in Grand Rapids will never have the opportunity to see the new Helen DeVos Children's Hospital like they will on Saturday, December 4 when the nearly completed facility opens its doors for public viewing.
Starting at 8 a.m. people will be able to wander into the operating and recovery rooms; see radiology suites without having an x-ray; peek at the neonatal intensive care and see where procedures like cardiac catheterizations, infusion therapy and sleep studies take place. Most all other areas of the hospital will be accessible too, including the 206 private rooms, the gift shop, cafeteria and gardens.
One of the highlights of the tour will be the 1,000 works of art that have been created for the space. After a nationwide search, Grand Rapids' LaFontsee Gallery was selected to coordinate the artwork for the space. A majority of the art was created by children through an outreach effort done earlier this year.
"People will be able to see things and go places they won't have access to after the hospital opens," said Tom Hanley, director of communications for Helen DeVos Children's Hospital. "It is a great way to get the big picture." The new hospital opens for patient care on January 11, 2011.
To accommodate people wanting to tour, the hospital is taking appointments (until December 1) at 616.776.9626 to help alleviate expected congestion.
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