Shepley Bulfinch completes $270 million Oishei Childrens Hospital; Project team includes Turner Construction Co., DiDonato Associates, Cannon Design, Simpson Gumpertz & Heger and Brown Sardine

Buffalo, NY Shepley Bulfinch has celebrated the grand opening of John Oishei Children’s Hospital, one of the area’s only freestanding pediatric hospitals, and one of 43 nationwide. The new $270 million, 410,000 s/f, 185-bed facility is the regional perinatal center and ACS Level 1 pediatric trauma center. It includes a 64-bed private room neonatal intensive care unit, labor and delivery unit, joint pediatric hematology/oncology unit in partnership with Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center as well as comprehensive inpatient and outpatient services co-located to meet the growing demand of pediatric and women’s health services for Kaleida Health, Western New York and beyond. 

Shepley Bulfinch leveraged its expertise to right size, consolidate and relocate Women and Children’s Hospital of Buffalo to the newly designed Oishei Children’s Hospital, fully integrating the new facility with the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus (BNMC) and the University at Buffalo’s Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences. 

Named after Buffalo native, industrialist and philanthropist John Oishei, the 12-story Oishei Children’s Hospital leverages existing logistical support services on campus including mechanicals, materials management and centralized clinical labs. An underground tunnel connects the new building with Buffalo General Medical Center and Gates Vascular Institute to provide back-of-house circulation and utility connections. A sky bridge over Ellicott Street connects both buildings and provides circulation for patients, visitors and staff. The result is a new facility that focuses on caring for moms and children, with a 25% reduction from its former size and a $60 million reduction in its operating budget.

Shepley Bulfinch’s healthcare design experience includes projects for Boston Children’s Hospital, East Tennessee Children’s Hospital, Children’s Hospital of Michigan, Banner – University Medical Center Tucson, and Yale-New Haven Health System, among many others.

“It’s our great honor to be able to elevate acute pediatric care in the area and deliver this new regional referral center,” said Jody Lomeo, president and CEO, Kaleida Health. “Shepley Bulfinch has helped us achieve our vision to create an innovative, high-quality and self-sufficient facility that, through its design elements, offers comfort to families that walk in with a sick child.”

Every element of the new facility was designed with patients and families in mind. The massing of the building fans from the street edge as it transitions from the podium to the tower, decompressing the campus at the pedestrian level and creating a hanging garden effect on the entry façade providing a welcoming experience. The elevator lobbies and public areas on each floor face the main entryway with floor-to-ceiling windows, providing campus views that orient visitors within the building. Each floor’s unique theming, color scheme and environmental branding assist families and visitors with wayfinding, as well as playrooms and public spaces where patients and their families can gather and seek respite. Space such as the Fisher-Price/Mattel Family & Child Support Services Floor was prioritized for family respite, education and care. This sanctuary away from clinical and public areas located on a middle floor includes a Family Resource Room, laundry amenities, kitchenettes, family lounge, winter garden, non-denominational chapel and meditative roof garden, providing much needed relief for patients and their families.

Oishei Children’s Hospital 64-bed private room Children’s Guild Foundation Neonatal Intensive Care Unit on the fourth floor, one of the largest in New York State, was designed to be quiet, calm and private. The womb-like floor allows mothers to be with their babies around the clock and features an all-weather solarium that provides respite for patients, family and staff. The Sal H. Alfiero Pediatric Intensive Care Unit on the ninth floor features 20 private patient rooms designed to foster a comfortable, family-centered care environment. All patient rooms offer ample space for advanced medical technology and amenities, including in-room seating that turns into sleeping areas for visiting family. The upper floor is dedicated to specialty services and pulls together two previously separate outpatient and inpatient units into a single, expanded-service facility, creating a center of excellence for the care of children with cancer, rare blood diseases and epilepsy.

The project team includes:

• Design Architect: Shepley Bulfinch
• General Contractor: Turner Construction Company
• Civil Engineer: DiDonato Associates
• Mechanical/Electrical/Plumbing Engineer: Cannon Design
• Structural Engineer: Simpson Gumpertz & Heger, Inc. (SGH)
• Landscape: Brown Sardine