Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital Celebrates 25th Birthday

A 25-year journey rooted in extraordinary vision, pioneering pediatric expertise and community support

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich., September 12, 2018 – Kids at Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital will be able to have their cake and eat it too. The hospital is celebrating its 25^th birthday this month, and kids will be voting on their favorite birthday treat, with the winning selection to be served at a birthday party for employees, patients and families. The birthday will also be recognized with a special edition of “Project Night Lights” at 8:30 p.m. on September 12, where the community will be invited to show support to patients.

“We can all be immensely proud of the programs we have developed at Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital over the past 25 years,” said Bob Connors, MD, president, Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital. “Our team of physicians, nurses and all of our staff provide world-class care; our community growing generous support to continue building state-of-the-art programs; and our children and families continue to provide us with the inspiration to reach higher.”

The hospital’s roots involve a small number of skilled pediatric specialists who joined Spectrum Health Butterworth Hospital in the 1970s and 1980s, building capabilities in children’s specialties such as neonatal, cardiac and intensive care. Their enthusiasm and expertise created momentum to attract more talent and philanthropy.

In the summer of 1990, hospital and physician leaders and donors committed $44 million to build the Helen DeVos Women & Children’s Center at Butterworth Hospital. The DeVos Children’s Hospital opened within Butterworth Hospital as a hospital within a hospital in September 1993, bringing together into one 10-story tower women’s health services, The Birthplace, and a dedicated children’s hospital with a larger neonatal intensive care unit, 24 private patient rooms, family waiting areas and special treatment rooms.

The 14-story, $286 million Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital as we know it today opened in January 2011, with the help of contributions from more than 6,000 donors. One of just 220 children’s hospitals in the country, it provides world-class medical and surgical care to infants, children and adolescents from Michigan, across the country and around the globe.

Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital is now a 234-bed regional referral center and teaching hospital. It offers advanced pediatric specialty care with more than 300 pediatric physicians who practice in more than 50 pediatric specialties and programs. The hospital also provides care close to home in regional clinics and share our expertise through Partners in Children’s Health: a collaboration with more than 30 hospitals throughout Michigan. Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital is also home to Michigan’s largest neonatal center.

By the numbers, Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital:

Admits 9,100 children on average annually
Handles 56,000 emergency department visits annually
Performs 8,700 surgeries each year
Cares for more than 1,400 newborns in the Neonatal ICU annually
Checks more than 5,500 car seats and boosters annually

See the 25^th Birthday website and 25-year timeline showing more information on progress the hospital has made over the years. To help support the patients and their families at Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital, visit give.helendevoschildrens.org.

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