Quick Facts

• Le Bonheur Children’s Medical Center is a not-for-profit, comprehensive, regional medical center providing 225 patient beds and 45 medical subspecialties.
• At Le Bonheur, more than 2,000 specially trained staff and Associates provide exceptional care to the children of the region and beyond.
• Each year, Le Bonheur treats nearly 130,000 children – the majority of them under five years of age. Although children come to Le Bonheur from all 50 states and many countries, most patients come from a six-state referral area.
• The Pediatric Intensive Care Unit at Le Bonheur provided lifesaving care to almost 2,000 children in 2008.
• In 2008, the board-certified emergency physicians at Le Bonheur cared for more than 64,000 children in the hospital’s Emergency Department, making it one of the 10 busiest pediatric emergency departments in the United States.
• Le Bonheur serves at the teaching facility for the University of Tennessee Health Science Center. Le Bonheur educates about 100 medical residents and 75 pharmacy students annually, in addition to training nearly 60 nursing interns and 20 pediatric therapy interns.
• Le Bonheur’s services include the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU), the Transitional Care Unit (TCU), a comprehensive Neuroscience Institute, a Brain Tumor program, a Cardiac Institute that includes Cardiothoracic Surgery, Orthopedics, Pediatric Surgery, an Emergency Department, Anesthesiology, Rehabilitation Services, Pedi-Flite and a Child Life Department.

World-Renowned Care

• Le Bonheur has developed and maintains one of the largest surgical brain tumor programs in the United States
• Pediatric surgeons at Le Bonheur use the most advanced technology and work in conjunction with St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital for multidisciplinary therapy for brain tumors.
• Le Bonheur is home to one of the most advanced epilepsy centers in the country, staffed by pediatric neurologists with special training in neurophysiology. This serves as a regional and national center offering many therapeutic approaches for children with epilepsy, including medication, neurosurgery and special diets.
• Le Bonheur is one of three pediatric facilities in the United States to house Magnetoencephalography technology (MEG), which provides images of brain wave activity.
• The Children's Foundation Research Center at Le Bonheur is leading to significant advancements in the treatment of pediatric diseases such as RSV.

State-of-the-Art Care and Research

• Cardiology and cardiovascular services at Le Bonheur include evaluation and treatment of congenital and acquired heart disease, hypertension, cardiac rhythm disorders and other related pediatric cardiology diagnoses. Le Bonheur’s Heart Institute is the only pediatric cardiovascular program in the region, utilizing the skills of pediatric cardiologists, cardiothoracic surgeons and a specially trained staff of pediatric experts.
• The Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Le Bonheur is a designated Level IIIC unit, providing comprehensive care to the most critically ill newborns in a family-centered environment. 24-hour care is provided seven days a week in the 15-bed NICU by a core group of board-certifi ed neonatologists, specialists and nurse practitioners specifi cally trained to care for and treat critically ill newborns.
• Le Bonheur is home to the Children’s Foundation Research Center of Memphis, a 32,000-square-foot laboratory and research center located on two floors in Le Bonheur’s West Patient Tower. Founded in 2000, the research by the University of Tennessee faculty and scientists are leading to significant advances in the treatment and prevention of childhood diseases.

Not-for-Profit

• Le Bonheur is a private, not-for-profit hospital and serves as the teaching facility for the
  University of Tennessee Health Science Center. Le Bonheur educates approximately 100 pediatric medical residents and 75 pharmacy students annually, in addition to training approximately 60 nursing interns and nearly 20 therapist interns.

First in the Region

• The first pediatric open-heart surgery in the region was performed at Le Bonheur in 1959.
• A 20-bed pediatric intensive care unit, the region’s largest, opened at Le Bonheur in 1990.
• In 1998, the first pediatric split-liver transplant in the region was successfully performed at Le Bonheur.
• Le Bonheur performed the first live pediatric surgical webcast in the region in 2004.
• Le Bonheur received designation from the state of Tennessee as the region’s first and only Comprehensive Regional Pediatric Center.

Community Outreach
Le Bonheur is deeply committed to community outreach and has eight unique programs that serve more than half a million children in the region:

• Delta Rural Health Initiative
• Center for Children and Parents
• Coordinated School Health
• Community HIV Network
• Le Bonheur Early Intervention and Development (LEAD)
• Mobile Health
• Safe Kids Mid-South
• Therapy Outreach

Unique Care

• It takes more than medicine to help children get well and stay well. Le Bonheur Children’s Medical Center strives to provide a family-centered environment focused on children. Le Bonheur transports patients within the hospital in special red wagons instead of wheelchairs. Before surgery, children can select a toy or stuffed animal from the Le Bonheur Club’s Bunny Room to ease their fears and provide a bit of comfort. Children also can choose their favorite flavor of anesthesia before surgery. Child Life specialists help prepare children for uncomfortable procedures and use art and music to help them express their fears.

Locations

• Le Bonheur Children’s Medical Center is located in the heart of the Memphis medical district. Le Bonheur has four urgent-care centers in Shelby County and one in DeSoto County. A same-day surgery center is located in east Memphis, and 14 outpatient clinics are located across western Tennessee, northern Mississippi and eastern Arkansas.

By the Numbers in 2008

• Total number of patients - 129,557
• Average number of children hospitalized per day - 188
• Emergency Department visits - 65,733
• Surgical cases - 9,008
• Cardiology procedures - 20,916
• Lab tests ordered - 382,634
• Cases requiring anesthesia - 10,365
• Pediatric transport calls - 1,614
• Neuroscience cases - 4,449
• Number of clinics at Le Bonheur - 12
• Radiology procedures - 82,720
• Pharmacy medications administered - 843,313
• Respiratory therapy treatments - 57,359
• Early intervention and development sessions - 6,589
• Number of calls to the Le Bonheur Referral and Resource Center - 25,515
• Number of states Le Bonheur patients came from - 50

Family-Centered Care

• CarePage Web pages created by families - 156
• CarePage visitors - 7,435
• Toys distributed in the Bunny Room - 8,776
• Meals served at Le Bonheur - 1,025,239
• Red wagons used to carry kids - 195

Teamwork at Le Bonheur

• Total number of Le Bonheur Associates - 2,083
• Pediatric specialists at Le Bonheur - 669
• Pediatric residents in training at Le Bonheur - 53
• Total number of volunteer hours served - 34,678

Le Bonheur Facilities

• Urgent Care centers - 5
• Patient beds - 225
• Operating rooms - 10
• Specialty clinics - 12

Economic Impact

• Local jobs supported by Le Bonheur - 14,147
• Direct economic impact on Memphis area - $9,051,329
• Total economic impact - $1,261,714,730