Children’s of Alabama is set to launch a $55 million expansion.
The hospital has received approval on a certificate of need from the State Health Planning and Development Agency that will allow it to more effectively care for patients in behavioral health, critical care and the neonatal intensive care unit.
The project involves building out the 12th floor of the Benjamin Russell building, which currently is a shell, to serve as a 50-bed unit for critical care patients. The hospital also will renovate the fifth floor of the McWane building to add 11 additional beds to the behavioral health unit. Six bassinets also will be added to the NICU.
“The expansion will provide room to serve more patients who need critical care, behavioral health services and the NICU,” said Tom Shufflebarger, president and CEO of Children’s of Alabama.
The licensed bed capacity for the hospital will remain at 332.
Poole & Company Architects is serving as the architect of record on the project. The expansion should be complete in the fall of 2026.
Children’s of Alabama was established in 1911 and is one of the largest pediatric medical facilities in the United States at more than 3.5 million square feet. Children’s of Alabama added the Benjamin Russell Hospital for Children, which houses the Russell Surgery Center and inpatient services, in 2012. The McWane building, which was formerly the main hospital building, houses some inpatient beds in the Dearth Tower and many of the hospital’s specialty clinics.
