Celebrating 20 years of life-saving care

Two decades ago, the Children’s Hospital of Georgia opened and became the only facility in the area dedicated exclusively to children 

Equipment. Expertise. Environment. Team work. That is what makes Children’s Hospital of Georgia and its 16-bed pediatric emergency room the only one of its kind in the area.

Formerly known as MCG Children’s Medical Center, the Children’s Hospital of Georgia has been ensuring children live their very best lives since its opening 20 years ago.

As the region’s Pediatric Trauma Center and only Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, we make it our duty to see every child receives the care and attention they need to heal. Our multidisciplinary team of experts involves family in every step of treatment, and all children receive world-class care in a truly child-centric environment.

Dr. Natalie Lane, ER medical director, has been with the children’s hospital since its opening in December 1998. The hospital was first dedicated 20 years ago this month with a ceremony in May 1998. In that time, she’s had the privilege of seeing the number of patients treated each year rise from 13,000 to 30,000. She attributes that growth to the children’s hospital’s loving care philosophy.

“It’s Patient- and Family-Centered Care,” Lane said. “We encourage that very important part of care for the child, and we have a unique comfort level with, and recognition of, a family’s needs.”

The hospital’s emergency room pediatricians are specialists in pediatric trauma, meaning they are expertly trained to recognize and manage injuries and other critical conditions in our littlest patients.

“The pediatric trauma specialization, which requires an extra three years of training, means all of our nursing staff chose to work in a children’s hospital,” Lane said. “Caring for children isn’t something they had to do; it’s something they wanted to do.”

State-of-the-art equipment, including two resuscitation bays with advanced airway and ultrasound capabilities, and an unmatched ability to work with sub-specialists to aid in the care of its patients makes the Children’s Hospital of Georgia a care destination in the Southeast.

The addition of a Pediatric Transport Team, which can travel to any hospital in a 150-mile radius to assist in the evaluation, resuscitation and transfer of children, means life-saving care and treatment are never far away. Whether by ground or by air, transport is always overseen by one of our PICU attending physicians.

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