Valley Children’s Hospital expanding again with $73M medical building in Madera
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Valley Children’s will build a 73,000-square-foot Ambulatory Pavilion in Madera County.
- The $73 million project will consolidate services in an outpatient center.
- Groundbreaking is planned next spring with patient service slated for 2029.
Valley Children’s Healthcare has announced plans to build a new 73,000-square-foot “Ambulatory Pavilion” on its main campus off Highway 41 in Madera County.
The healthcare nonprofit — which operates Valley Children’s Hospital and other facilities across the San Joaquin Valley — says it’s a $73 million investment that will bring various medical services together into an outpatient center.
“Bringing key services together in one place builds on the coordinated care we already provide, helping make the experience even more seamless and convenient for families,” Dr. Vinod Balasa, medical director of Valley Children’s Cancer and Blood Disorders Center, said in a news release.
The pavilion will be built in the space north of the main hospital building and east of the Founder’s Plaza administrative building, where Valley Children’s has vast open land to accommodate its future growth.
The hospital campus has grown to more than 700 acres since Valley Children’s moved there from Fresno in 1998. The organization owns hundreds of acres zoned for residential and mixed-use development that it has yet to announce plans for between Children’s Boulevard and the southern edge of the Riverstone community.
South of Children’s Boulevard, where Valley Children’s is installing new roads, its open land is slated for new healthcare buildings but also commercial development. The hospital says a commercial operation is part of its long-term plan to finance children’s medical treatment.
Valley Children’s spokesperson Zara Arboleda told The Bee that the Ambulatory Pavilion is being paid for with money from the organization’s reserves. She said no money is being diverted from patient care to build the new center.
Design, timeline for Valley Children’s Ambulatory Pavilion
Arboleda said Valley Children’s plans to break ground on the new center next spring and to open it to patients in 2029.
She said its design will be based on feedback from Valley Children’s doctors, staff and patient families. It will be “open and friendly” and will include play areas for children, Arboleda said.
Arboleda added its design will also consider the needs of children who have autism. Valley Children’s has a program, called George’s Pass, intended to make hospital stays easier for children with autism.
“We will make sure it’s accessible,” Arboleda said of the future building. “It will be a safe space.”
Valley Children’s CEO Todd Suntrapak said in the hospital’s news release that the new center is intended to make the hospital experience easier for children and their families.
“When a child needs medical care, families are already carrying so much worry, uncertainty and the demands of navigating appointments and treatments,” he said. “This new pavilion is designed with those families in mind. Our responsibility is not only to provide exceptional care, but to make that experience more coordinated, compassionate and supportive throughout every step.”
