by Thomas Hobson
Child Life Director

Following the trend of yesterday's post, I thought I would share some information about all of the construction. It is hard to believe, but in just a few weeks, the grand opening will be held for the new Le Bonheur Children's!  It is like watching a dream come true, and I simply can't underscore how excited the associates are about it.  Everyone is looking forward to getting to peek inside and see all that the new building has to offer.

Recently, Child Life Services got to take a tour of the construction, and much like with the Family Partner Council, I thought I would share the pictures.  If you look at the previous post's pictures and then these, you can't help but notice how many changes have occurred.  There are still several things left to complete, but at this point, it is more finishing touches.

I've included in the comments what you are looking at, and I'll apologize in advance for some of the fuzzy pictures.  Needless to say, the parts of the new Le Bonheur Children's that you are seeing today are small by comparison to the overall size.  However, I'm sure just seeing these pictures will help to get you even more excited about the completed project.

Enjoy!

by Thomas Hobson
Child Life Director

In another sign that Le Bonheur Chldren’s need hospital is almost complete, there has been a new addition to the building, and needless to say it’s an extremely visible one. What could be more visible than a 12 story building on the corner of Poplar and Dunlap? It’s the new hearts that have been added to top of the east and west sides of the building.

That’s right, if you are driving up or down Poplar Avenue, you will get to see the new letters and giant hearts. Considering the size of the hospital, the letters and hearts have to be huge. Specifically, the hearts are 28 feet tall and the lettering is 9 feet tall, and the hearts and letters are covered with a vinyl.

Placing the letters was relatively easy; however, it took a great deal more effort to place the hearts. After all of the planning, the first attempt happened. It was an amazing attempt that required a helicopter, special rigging, and a quick moving construction crew.

The first attempt, around 11:20 a.m. CST, drew the attention of several crowds. A few folks even set up picnics, and you could see kids playing games. However, once the helicopter started its assent, it was all eyes on the new building. It was an amazing sight to see one of the giant hearts get lifted about the hospital. However, the wind kept the crew from installing the hearts, but have no fear, around 4:30 p.m. CST, the crew got them in place.

I hope you enjoy the pictures that were taken by various people at the event. Additionally, I would like to give a couple of thanks to a few groups: Mangan Holcomb Partners of Little Rock designed the logo, heart and signage; Innerface Architectural Signage, Inc. of Atlanta, who is developing signs for the new hospital; and H.A. Balton Sign Company of Memphis who is installing the signage.

Recently, Le Bonheur Children's Family Partner Council went on a tour of the new hospital.  The group was excited to see how the construction was coming along, especially given the level of input they gave on the building design.  Since everyone is excited about this new building, I thought I would share the photo tour of the group with you.  Be sure to turn on the comments by clicking on the "talk box" in the lower left corner.

 As you can see there are a lot of things to be excited about, and the new building will be a wonderful change for our ability to care for patients and families.  I'll post more pictures and information as I get it.  Also, if you want to see some more videos on the new building check out the We're Growing Up section of the Le Bonheur Children's website.