In April 2011, the Atrium was opened to the public and now serves as the main entrance to the Children's Hospital. The Emergency Room entrance was moved to N.E. 13th Street.The Children's Hospital has an affiliated physicians practice as part of OU Children's Physicians. The doctors work in over 50 pediatric specialties.The Children's Hospital is home to the Women's and Newborn Center, which is known for its high risk specialty care for mothers and newborns. The Women's and Newborn Center is home to the only midwifery service in a central Oklahoma hospital and the only comprehensive lactation service in Oklahoma. It also offers a wide range of prenatal courses and classes. In 2015 the hospital purchased a new helicopter for critically illneonatal intensive care and pediatric intensive care transport. The new helicopter was named "Air Kids One" by hospital officials. In July 2019 the hospital announced that they would be expanding their pediatric intensive care unit to another space in the hospital with a 34 bed capacity. The space that was formerly the PICU was to be converted into a cardiac intensive care unit. In early 2020 the hospital implemented temporary strict visitation protocols in order to help prevent the spread in hospital settings. The change prohibited any visitors under 18 and only allowed one parent per patient in the hospital. In 2020 to help deal with the surge of adult SARS-Cov-2 the hospital opened up its pediatric units to adults with the disease. The hospital also expanded their overall pediatric limit from 21 to 26 to supplement the adult hospitals in the area. Adults on the unit were treated by pediatric nurses and doctors during their stay.
About
Care Units
CHOU has the only American Academy of Pediatrics verified level IV neonatal intensive care unit in the state and the greater region of the midwest. Critically ill newborns from all over the region are transported to the NICU from smaller hospitals that are not equipped to treat these patients. CHOU features the only 24/7 pediatric emergency room in Oklahoma City and the only American College of Surgeons verified level 1 pediatric trauma center in the state of Oklahoma. The verification was renewed in January, 2020.
Awards
In 2010, the Pediatric Urology Department at The Children's Hospital was ranked as the 14th best Urology Department in the nation by U.S. News & World Report. In 2012, the Women’s & Newborn Center at the Children’s Hospital at OU received an "Excellence in Patient Care" award from the healthcare firm Studer Group. In 2020, the Oklahoma Perinatal Quality Improvement Collaborative awarded the hospital the Spotlight Hospital Award because of the hospitals excellence in perinatal care.