Ground broken for new Inova women’s and children’s hospitals

A rendering of the new hospital.

Inova Health System senior leaders, elected officials, government representatives, and donors gathered at a groundbreaking ceremony for a $400 million Women’s Hospital and Children’s Hospital at Inova Fairfax Medical Campus Sept. 10 on Gallows Road, east of Annandale.

The 650,000-square-foot building is the second phase of the Inova Fairfax expansion project.

“Today we are one step closer to achieving Vision 2015, and reinventing the way we deliver care in our hospitals,” said Innova Health System CEO Knox Singleton.

Inova Women’s Hospital will have 192 private patient rooms; a dedicated women’s surgery center with eight operating rooms, 33 labor delivery and recovery suites, and six cesarean-section operation rooms, a high-risk perinatal unit, an expanded antenatal testing center, lactation center, and family-centered maternity suites.

Inova Children’s Hospital will have 116 private pediatric patient rooms, an expanded 108-bassinette level IIIC neonatal intensive care unit, pediatric oncology unit, Northern Virginia’s only pediatric intensive care unit, and a child-life play area. It will have a separate child-friendly entrance and a number of features built specifically for children.

“These state-of-the-art facilities will enable Inova to continue to excel in caring for Virginia’s women and children,” said Virginia’s first lady, Maureen McDonnell. “The new hospitals truly are a testament to Inova’s commitment to the future of the region’s health.”

The first phase of the Inova Fairfax Medical Campus expansion project is the 11-story medical/surgical South Patient Tower, which is expected to open in January 2013.