Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta
The Next Generation of Care for Georgia’s Kids
Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta
Natural light and healing views are found throughout Arthur M. Blank Hospital.
Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta
The Next Generation of Care for Georgia’s Kids
Twenty-plus acres of gardens, walking trails, and lush green space promote patients’ physical and mental well-being at Arthur M. Blank Hospital. The special flower-shaped dome of the gazebo offers shade and a peaceful spot for seating.
Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta
The Next Generation of Care for Georgia’s Kids
Copyright 2025 © Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta Foundation
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying or recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta Foundation.
Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta Arthur M. Blank Hospital
2220 N. Druid Hills Road NE Atlanta GA 30329 404-785-5437 choa.org
Editors
Michelle Martin
Abby Wexler
BOOK DEVELOPMENT
Author Betsy Shearron
Editor
Rob Levin
Cover and Book Design
Amy Thomann
Project Management
Stacy Moser
Image Management and Production
Renée Peyton
Covington, Georgia www.bookhouse.net
The opening of Arthur M. Blank Hospital ushered in a new day in pediatric healthcare in Georgia, the Southeast, and beyond.
Months of practice and preparation enabled Children’s staff to safely transport 202 young patients—including Romain Holley shown here—in less than twelve hours.
Chapter Three Better Together
Chapter Four
“Let’s Dream Big”
Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta CEO Donna Hyland first met Arthur Blank in 1983, when she joined The Home Depot—then a company with nineteen stores nationwide—as a corporate accountant. Thirty years later, Hyland and Blank became two of the driving forces behind the Children’s new Arthur M. Blank Hospital.
Foreword
By Arthur M. Blank
It is a profound honor for me and my family to be forever connected to Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta through Arthur M. Blank Hospital. Children make up one-third of our population and represent 100 percent of our future. Being part of an organization so deeply committed to their care today—and the research that will shape their care tomorrow—is truly a blessing.
In the following pages, you will discover the extraordinary effort and dedication that went into planning and building this transformational hospital. Every detail, from the thoughtful design to the cutting-edge equipment and technology, was chosen to empower healthcare professionals to deliver the highest level of care. Just as importantly, the hospital was built to bring comfort to children and families who may call it “home” for weeks or even months.
Since 2001, my family and I have proudly supported Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. We’ve always appreciated having one of the nation’s top pediatric hospitals in our community, but in 2020, it became deeply personal when my then-nine-year-old granddaughter underwent heart surgery there. That experience reminded us just how special this place is.
Growing up, my mother often told me, “You only pass through once; make a difference.” My hope is that Arthur M. Blank Hospital will make a lasting difference in the lives of children for generations to come. I’m incredibly proud of what this hospital represents, but it is just the beginning. One of my favorite t-shirts reads, “There is no finish line,” a sentiment that perfectly aligns with Children’s “Never Settle: A Campaign for Kids.”
Through my work with Children’s, I’ve come to understand that “Never Settle” isn’t just a motto, it’s a way of thinking. This organization is committed to staying at the forefront of pediatric care and research, always striving for more, and always answering the call. I am grateful and honored to play a small part in that ongoing journey to make children healthier today and into the future.
Move Teams consisted of nurses, respiratory therapists, transporters, and transporter assistants on September 29, 2024. The process took up to two hours per patient in some cases.
Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta
THE NEXT GENERATION OF CARE FOR GEORGIA’S KIDS
Chapter One
The Move-In: Day One at Arthur M. Blank Hospital
It’s just before sunrise on Sunday, September 29, 2024, and the anticipation in the air is palpable. At exactly 7:00 a.m., the Emergency Department at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta’s new Arthur M. Blank Hospital will open, ushering in a new day in pediatric healthcare in Georgia, the Southeast, and beyond. Unprecedented planning and preparation have taken place to ensure the $2.2 billion pediatric hospital and North Druid Hills campus will be among the most advanced in the world and can fully meet the needs of patients, parents, and medical professionals for generations to come. In addition to state-of-the-art medical equipment and technology, the nineteenstory, 2-million-square-foot facility features unparalleled amenities to further enhance Children’s legacy of doing everything possible to make anything possible for kids.
Left: Fifty-six ambulances from across the Southeast helped transport 202 patients to the new Arthur M. Blank Hospital on September 29, 2024. This page: Asher McGoldrick (center) with his mom, Brianna (left), and a Move Team member.
Still, the excitement is tinged with tension. When the Emergency Department at Arthur M. Blank Hospital opens, the Egleston Hospital Emergency Department will officially close and Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta will conduct its most crucial operation to date—transporting Egleston’s patients, many critically ill, to the new hospital. The historic move will be one of the day’s biggest stories for local media. But for the Children’s employees, there will be 202 stories written—one for each child being transported. More than half of the children are in intensive care units and will require special equipment, including, but not limited to, incubators, ventilators, and heart and lung bypass machines.
The move has been planned with as much care and attention to detail as building the hospital itself. For the past two years, employees from teams and departments across the Children’s system have been involved in developing a detailed, down-to-the-minute moving plan that covers any contingency. Children’s also enlisted the help of Yellow Brick, a company that has helped more than thirty healthcare organizations across the country move into new facilities.
A group of Children’s clinicians pose at Egleston Hospital on Move Day.
Brithany Morales, an eightyear-old girl awaiting a kidney transplant, was the first patient transported on moving day.
Parents like Savannah Noble, pictured here with her son, Van Hugo Noble, were able to accompany their children on the trip from Egleston to Arthur M. Blank Hospital.
equipment, medications, and transport vehicles that will be required for different patient types. Additional medical staff have spent hours familiarizing themselves with their new surroundings at Arthur M. Blank Hospital, holding dress rehearsals of virtually every medical procedure that will be performed there. More than 35,000 pieces of medical equipment have been tested and retested to ensure they are working properly. Everything must be ready to go on Move Day. Young lives depend on it.
In the early hours of Move Day, Linda Cole and other Children’s officials are stationed in the Patient Command Center, as staff from facilities, IT, and communications operate additional command centers. For the next twelve hours they will track each patient, minute by minute, until they safely arrive at Arthur M. Blank Hospital. The team will be ready to respond to any issue as needed.
Over that twelve-hour period, both Egleston and Arthur M. Blank Hospital will operate, fully staffed with duplicate labs, radiology departments, and operating rooms. “As soon as we open the Emergency Department at Arthur M. Blank Hospital, we have to be ready for any emergency,” explains Cole. Likewise, a full staff will
“We have a plan, a back-up plan, and, in many cases, a back-up plan for the back-up plan,” explains Chief Nursing Officer Linda Cole, who is responsible for the overall transition from Egleston to Arthur M. Blank Hospital. Throughout the summer, Children’s staff have simulated discharging patients from Egleston and receiving them at the new facility, making note of the
In the early hours of Move Day, Linda Cole and other Children’s officials are stationed in the Patient Command Center, as staff from facilities, IT, and communications operate additional command centers. For the next twelve hours they will track each patient, minute by minute, until they safely arrive at Arthur M. Blank Hospital.
Chief Nursing Officer Linda Cole makes the announcement that the last patient has left Egleston Hospital, and the hospital is officially closed.
also be needed at Egleston until the last patient leaves. “It would be difficult to keep duplicate departments operating over a long period of time, which is why we’re moving in one day,” she notes. In addition to both hospitals being fully staffed, more than a thousand Children’s employees have volunteered to come in on their day off to support clinical staff and help acclimate patients and families to the new hospital.
At 7:00 a.m., workers place a “closed” sign on the Emergency Department at Egleston and the vibrant red “Emergency” sign is unveiled at Arthur M. Blank Hospital. Minutes later, Children’s CEO Donna Hyland speaks to the staff via the hospital intercom: “It is my honor to announce we have officially opened the Emergency Department at Arthur M. Blank Hospital and will begin seeing patients there,” she says. “The patient move has officially begun.”
Patients are moved on four tracks, including one track for non-critical patients and two tracks for critical care patients. The fourth track is for patients on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) machines, which take over
At 7:00 a.m., workers place a “closed” sign on the Emergency Department at Egleston and the vibrant red “Emergency” sign is unveiled at Arthur M. Blank Hospital. Minutes later, Children’s CEO Donna Hyland speaks to the staff via the hospital intercom:
“It is my honor to announce we have officially opened the Emergency Department at Arthur M. Blank Hospital and will begin seeing patients there,” she says.
(Left to right) Children’s COO Ron Frieson, Chief Information Officer Jeremy Meller, and Chief Administrative Officer Linda Matzigkeit join Dr. Lucky Jain, retired Chief Pediatrician and former Chair of the Emory University School of Medicine’s Department of Pediatrics, on moving day.
To create a sense of adventure rather than anxiety during transport, many young patients, like Aliza Stern, were given Polaroid cameras by a child life specialist to capture their journey. Other patients were given scavenger hunt lists suggesting things to see or do during their trip.
the function of the heart and lungs when a patient’s organs are too sick or weak to work properly. Patients in the latter three groups are accompanied by a nurse or physician. As Move Teams assist nurses in preparing each patient for transport—a process that can take up to two hours in some cases—fifty-six ambulances from the across the Southeast line up outside Egleston to take children the roughly four miles to Arthur M. Blank Hospital. Law enforcement officers from Atlanta, DeKalb County, Brookhaven, Sandy Springs, Emory University, and the Georgia State Patrol are stationed along the way to ensure patients travel safely and without interruption. Because the move is being held on a Sunday in hopes of reduced traffic volume, the six churches along the route have arranged alternative entrance and exit patterns for worshippers or they will hold services online.
Shortly after 8:00 a.m., the first patient is discharged from Egleston. Dozens of employee volunteers cheer as eight-year-old Brithany Morales, who is awaiting a kidney transplant, is taken to a waiting ambulance. She receives a similar welcome when she arrives at Arthur M. Blank Hospital thirty minutes later. “We wanted to try to make this a happy experience for the patients who are awake and alert,” Cole explains. “We wanted to make it seem like an adventure rather than something stressful.” The scene is repeated throughout the day, with patients who have sensory issues greeted with smiles and silent waves rather than cheers. Several of the Children’s facility dogs are on duty at both hospitals to provide additional smiles and comfort for patients and families. To add to the sense
Right: Years of planning and preparation were put into action when the emergency sign at Arthur M. Blank Hospital was unveiled at 7:00 a.m., marking the official opening of the hospital.
Chapter One THE MOVE-IN: DAY ONE AT ARTHUR M.
Move day was particularly stressful for the parents of critically ill patients like Braxton Miller and his father, Zachary. The Children’s team spent months planning for any scenario, painstakingly identifying medical equipment and staff that would be needed to safely transport every young patient.
As did many critical patients that day, Braxton traveled with a doctor and nurse in addition to the ambulance crew and medical equipment that was essential to keeping him alive. of adventure, the young patients are given a scavenger hunt list of things to see or do during their trip or Polaroid cameras to photograph their journey.
For critically ill patients like Braxton Miller and their families, the trip offers more anxiety than adventure. Less than a month old at the time of the move, Braxton had been airlifted to Egleston after being diagnosed with Arthrogryposis type 5D following an emergency C-section. A rare condition that results in permanent stiffening of the joints, Arthrogryposis type 5D caused Braxton’s legs to grow toward his head with his feet and wrists locked in place. As did many critical patients that day, Braxton traveled with a doctor and nurse in addition to the ambulance crew and medical equipment that was essential to keeping him alive. “He has to be on a ventilator at all times,” explains Braxton’s father, Zachary. “If he’s off for even a moment, he’ll code, and his heart will stop.”
Zachary Miller was also able to accompany his son on the trip from Egleston to Arthur M. Blank Hospital. “In addition to having all the medical expertise and equipment close at hand, we knew it was important emotionally for a parent to be able to travel with their child,” Cole notes. Likewise, Children’s staff worked hard to prepare both patients and family members for the move. “We understood there would be anxiety and knew the best way we could help parents and patients stay calm was for us
Children’s facility dogs, like Pepa—shown here with Carly Langdon and Allison Mueller—provided comfort and brought smiles to both patients and parents on moving day.
Children’s CEO Donna
enjoys a moment with employees on Move Day.
Hyland
to be calm ourselves,” Cole explains. “That’s why all the planning and practice was so important. We could be calm because we knew we’d planned for every scenario.”
Shortly after 6:00 p.m., when the last patient arrives at Arthur M. Blank Hospital, there is a sense of celebration and a sigh of relief. “We knew we were as prepared as we possibly could be but, for those hours, their lives were in our hands in a different way than we’re used to,” observes
one employee. The moment is also bittersweet, as Egleston will now close after serving Georgia’s youngest, most vulnerable patients for sixty-five years. The mission and foundation Egleston helped establish, however, will guide Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta for the next century.
The opening of the new Arthur M. Blank Hospital brought the closing of Egleston Hospital, which had served Georgia children for nearly 100 years.
Children’s leaders and staff prepare to welcome the first of 202 patients at Arthur M. Blank Hospital on September 29, 2024.
One of the most advanced pediatric hospitals in the country, Arthur M. Blank Hospital and its staff of talented medical professionals will fully meet the needs of patients and their families for generations to come.