From leading physicians, specialists and researchers to exceptional care and support, our Children’s Hospital has all the components of a world-class facility.
In order to grow, there is only one path forward; a brand-new building designed from the ground up especially for kids. Help us as we embark on a campaign on behalf of Missouri’s children and families. With your support, we can combine all of our incredible pediatric resources on a single campus, setting a strong foundation for decades to come. Our new Children’s Hospital will: • offer modern spaces, built with children and families’ comfort in mind • allow for streamlined care, with specialists and teams housed on one campus • bring together the best of Mizzou’s research capabilities, positioning us for future growth and discovery
“We’re making excellent progress toward our opening in summer 2024 as we bring together the best of our resources under one roof. Our new Children’s Hospital will show that the power of collaboration, curiosity and care can transform the lives of children and their families right here in the Show Me State. With a steadfast focus on research and teaching, we are bringing together the best of patient care while creating new solutions to complex health problems and training a new generation of physicians to provide the best quality of care possible for generations to come. We look forward to opening our doors to the community.” Richard J. Barohn, MD Executive Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs and Hugh E. and Sarah D. Stephenson Dean, School of Medicine
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The new two-story lobby features a nature-inspired interior with natural lighting.
A Place Just for Kids There’s more to our treatments than science and specialists; comfort and hope are essential to healing. Every aspect of our new Children’s Hospital is designed to make a vulnerable time more comforting. From private patient rooms and welcoming environments to spaces for children to play, we’re building a place that puts our kids first. • Bright, welcoming entrances and lobbies put children at ease for their visit • Private rooms, including our reimagined NICU suites, allow families a personal space to rest together Beyond a commitment to healing and care, what makes a Children’s Hospital special is the relationships built between the staff and patients and their families.
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• Interactive clinic spaces, filled with safe toys and functional furniture, give children with sensory issues the freedom to self-regulate • Gardens allow patients and visiting siblings to interact outside of strictly clinical environments
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Small Packages
a breathing tube. In addition, she needed surgery at four weeks old to repair a hole in her heart — a particularly trying experience atop a mountain of trying experiences. Yet as time passed, Ayla began accumulating small victories, building strength and growing.
Courageous parents, a resilient newborn and a worldclass health care team defy the odds.
The NICU became a home away from home for the Campbells, and their dedicated nurses became like sisters and aunts. Hours, days and weeks spent together in close quarters — sometimes with limited privacy — formed unbreakable bonds. Everyone had fallen in love with Ayla, now nicknamed La La.
One in a melon excruciating pain from a magnesium drip and my body felt like it was on fire,” Angel said. “My husband and I just held each other, crying, saying ‘I love you. I love you.’ “I said, ‘If something happens, please take care of the kiddos.’”
World-class care Even in the category of micropreemie, “La La” was little. Arriving at 24 weeks and weighing one pound, three ounces, Ayla Lynn Campbell was closer to the gestational size of a 22-week-old — with long odds of survival. In the span of a single day, her mom, Angel Campbell, had developed HELLP syndrome — a severe, life-threatening form of preeclampsia — requiring an emergency cesarean section to save both of their lives. For newborns under two pounds, the odds are especially dire. But after 252 days in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), tiny Ayla was finally strong enough to go home. Thanks in large part to the staff, who have become like family to the Campbells, she celebrated her first birthday on March 15, 2022. “There are so many people at that hospital
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who I am forever grateful for,” said Angel. “Ayla really shouldn’t be here given the cards she was dealt. We call her our miracle baby.”
Touch and go Angel had given birth before — it was her second pregnancy with husband Bobby. But this experience was different. “I didn’t know I was going through preeclampsia,” Angel said. “I was eating dinner and suddenly I was balled up on the floor crying. My mom, who is a nurse, kept saying “We need to go to urgent care.” Hourly blood draws revealed an increasingly serious situation. That night, doctors burst into Angel’s hospital room; they had less than 30 minutes to perform a life-saving C-section. “I remember very little because I was in
Through the fog of medication and trauma, Angel awoke to the comforting faces of the hospital staff asking if she wanted to see her daughter. Nurses wheeled the bedbound mommy into the NICU where she was finally able to meet her precious miracle. The team of physicians were hopeful but honest with the Campbells regarding Ayla’s uphill battle. She had been fitted with a feeding tube, had suffered brain bleeding, and her tiny airway was nearly too small for
“I truly believe that the professionals at MUHC are the reason Ayla’s alive, and that if she had been at a different hospital, things might be different,” Angel said. “I would love to see them have all the resources that they need to continue to thrive. “I tell other parents who are going through a similar situation to hold on to the joy. There were so many downs, but then there were ups. We might get some bad news, but then she would open her eyes. No matter how difficult it was, there was always joy in our story. And you have to celebrate those moments.” One such moment: Ayla’s first birthday costume, a bright pink and green watermelon outfit. The theme for her party? “One in a melon.”
Bonding to a Shared Beat MU’s music therapists are helping children like Ayla thrive — and in doing so, they’re enhancing treatments for children around the world. Research suggests that Multimodal Neurological Enhancement, a form of music therapy, can help with preterm infants’ brain development; the data gathered by MU’s team is being used to further that research.
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A Team for Hope and Relief MU Health Care specialists helped Nevaeh meet milestone after milestone.
Scan to read Nevaeh’s full story
W h e n M e l i s s a We b e r t o o k h e r i n f a n t daughter, Nevaeh, to the pediatrician, she knew something was wrong. At 13 days old, Nevaeh was struggling to eat, and her breathing had completely deteriorated. “She was working so hard to breathe. Her ribs were showing with every breath, and she was sucking in at the front of her throat,” explained Weber. She was right. Nevaeh’s oxygen levels were dangerously low, and a visit to the ER identified the problem; laryngomalacia, a condition in which the voice box tissues are too soft, resulting in a partially blocked windpipe. It also complicated feedings; Nevaeh was aspirating milk into her lungs with every meal. As if that weren’t enough, Nevaeh was also suffering from severe obstructive sleep apnea, causing her oxygen levels to drop even lower at night. “I didn’t sleep,” says Weber. “I would watch her all night and have to rub her chest to stimulate her breathing.” 8
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A bright future ahead But thanks to the coordinated care provided by her team of specialists, Nevaeh is growing stronger each day. A special diet helps avoid anything entering her lungs, and multiple surgeries, including an adenoidectomy and tonsillectomy, have reduced her sleep apnea spells from over 29 an hour to 16 — a marked improvement. She’ll undergo further treatments to improve her breathing and sleep quality. And her care team will be with her every step of the way. As Nevaeh approaches her second birthday, she’s preparing for another procedure with an MU specialist; one that will help open her airway even further. But the worst is over; as Weber watches her daughter hit milestone after milestone, she’s been amazed by her progress. “I was convinced we’d have to go to a bigger city to get the level of care she needed,” says Weber, “but all of the specialists were right here, and they’ve been amazing.”
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Thousands of Resources. One Home. Imagine a wheelchair ride down the hallway, instead of a car trip across state lines. For our most vulnerable patients, access to all of MU Health Care’s resources can mean a more streamlined experience, with less time and distance between appointments. And with hundreds of specialists on one campus, our kids can receive world-class, customized treatment — all without having to travel. • Patient care teams include specialists from across University Hospital, Ellis Fischel Cancer Center, Missouri Orthopaedic Institute and Missouri Psychiatric Center. • State-of-the-art technologies will allow pediatric teams to plan and carryout interventions even before birth, working side-by-side with world-class obstetricians to improve outcomes for mothers and babies in complex and high-risk pregnancies.
Newly designed patient rooms offer built-in flexibility, creating a more convenient and seamless experience.
• State-of-the-art equipment and technology allow patients with rare conditions to remain in mid-Missouri for the duration of their treatment. • Collaboration between specialists and support staff allow for truly comprehensive treatment plans. • Proximity to other MUHC institutes, including the Thompson Center for Autism and Neurodevelopment and Ellis Fischel Cancer Center, allows for seamless continuation of care for at-risk patients.
Thompson Center for Autism and Neurodevelopment Not only does the Thompson Center serve as an essential resource for parents locally, but they are leading the way in research that benefits children worldwide. One such study, SPARK, is the largest of its kind, with the goal of building a community of over 50,000 individuals with autism and their families. The Thompson Center is one of 31 participating research institutions, and the only such facility in Missouri, drawing in participants from as far as Kansas City and St. Louis.
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Rheumatoid arthritis in children is uncommon; specialists who can spot it even more so. Pediatric rheumatologists at MU Health Care Children’s Hospital are amongst an array of specialists available to Missouri’s children.
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Faster Treatments, Better Outcomes Without the experts at Children’s Hospital, the Claytons would have had to travel to Kansas City, St. Louis or farther away for Blair’s treatment. “My husband could pop into work for a few hours, or I could go home and wash my hair. We were trying to be as normal as possible,” says Heather. “If we were in St. Louis, there’d be no way any of that could happen.”
Blair only has one speed. Whether she’s bouncing around at gymnastics practice, cruising on her pink scooter or chowing down at dinner time, she goes full steam ahead.
For cases like Blair’s, where a quick diagnosis can make a significant impact on a child’s life, having more than 25 pediatric subspecialties on a single campus allows for faster treatments and better outcomes.
“Her nickname is TED,” says her mother, Heather Clayton. “That stands for Terrorize, Eat and Destroy. She’s pretty rambunctious.” Her parents knew something was wrong when Blair woke up crying and saying her belly hurt. The next day, she ran a fever, got a full-body rash and started vomiting. A lymph node in her neck swelled up, and the whites of her eyes turned red.
Padhye, MD, were able to quickly narrow down the cause to Kawasaki disease, an illness that causes inflammation in blood vessels, almost always in young children. Kawasaki disease is the leading cause of heart disease in these young patients, but is treatable, if found early. Without the benefits of specialists, says Padhye, “it’s difficult to make a (Kawasaki) diagnosis quickly.” “It’s not unusual to see patients who have been sick for more than a week at more than one hospital before someone put the symptoms together,” she adds. But thanks to her dedicated pediatric team, Blair was diagnosed just four days after admission and treated with IV immunoglobin. Almost immediately, she shifted back into TED mode. “The infusion wasn’t even finished, and she was devouring an entire plate of spaghetti,” her mom said. “It kicked in that quickly.”
The Children’s Hospital team, including pediatric infectious disease specialist Amruta 12
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Making Miracles Happen Shelbie Mays was familiar with the miracles that happen in Children’s Hospitals. Just before her first days as an MU freshman, she’d watched her aunt’s twins fight for their lives after being born prematurely. When she arrived on campus, her Kappa Delta sisters mentioned a volunteer organization she might be interested in. It set her on a path serving on the leadership board for MizzouThon, the largest student-run philanthropy at MU, during her undergraduate years.
Since 2008, MizzouThon has raised more than $2.5 million for the Children’s Hospital through 5Ks, fashion shows and other fundraisers throughout the year. The organization’s “main event” is the Dance Marathon — a continuous, 13.1 hour celebration that brings together volunteers and the Miracle Kids they serve through the Children’s Miracle Network. Through their hard work, MizzouThon has funded telehealth programs, the Blood and Cancer Disorders Unit and the Music Therapy program. They also supported renovations and enhancements of the existing NICU — renamed the MizzouThon NICU in 2018. The donations on the organization’s behalf have had a remarkable impact. MizzouThon’s efforts have provided necessary resources to help support the quality of care MU Health Care provides its youngest patients. Shelbie plans to become a pediatric nurse; she’s currently a graduate student in MU’s Sinclair School of Nursing following completion of her undergraduate degree. Seeing MizzouThon’s impact firsthand while shadowing MU Health Care nurses convinced her she was entering the right profession. “I remember one time there was a little boy who’d been in the NICU over a year,” says Shelbie. “The nurses, every time they walked by, would stop by and talk to him before continuing to their next round. Seeing that connection, and knowing MizzouThon contributes to those moments, was awesome.”
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Foundations for the Future In addition to investments in research opportunities and star faculty, we built the Roy Blunt NextGen Precision Health facility, which is the cornerstone of a comprehensive research pipeline encompassing the entire University of Missouri System. With the ability to turn lab discoveries into life-changing medicines and treatments, we’ll be on the forefront of solving the world’s great challenges — and our patients will be some of the first to benefit, with clinical trials, innovative therapies and top research teams.
Pediatric Subspecialties NextGen Precision Health brings top researchers and specialists together to move groundbreaking treatments and cures from bench to bedside as rapidly as possible.
MU School of Medicine researchers Haval Shirwan, PhD, and Esma Yolcu, PhD, both professors of Child Health and Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, are working on a cutting-edge immunotherapy to treat Type 1 diabetes, which affects nearly 1 in 400 people under the age of 20 — many of them children.
Thanks to our hospital campus’ shared resources and pediatric specialists, we’re leading the way in treating a variety of complex diseases, illnesses and injuries. Our specialties include:
Adolescent Medicine
Genetics
Allergy
Hematology
Anesthesiology
Hospitalists
Cardiology
Infectious Disease
Critical Care
Medicine/Pediatrics
Developmental and Behavioral Health
Neonatology
Dermatology Diabetes & Endocrinology Emergency Medicine Gastroenterology
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Nephrology Neurology and Neurosurgery
Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation Plastic Surgery Psychology Pulmonology Radiology Rheumatology Urology
Oncology Ophthalmology
General Pediatrics
Orthopaedic Surgery/ Spine
General Surgery
Otolaryngology
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Building the Future All of our world-class resources, together on one main campus.
Level 1 - Lobby View
Level 4 - Lobby View
Interactive Spaces
Centrally located within our University Hospital campus, the new Children’s Hospital will open in the summer of 2024. Each aspect of this new building focuses on creating the best possible healing environment for kids and their families, and is one piece of an extraordinary, reimagined model of care that prioritizes the inpatient, outpatient and primary care needs of our community.
All images are for illustration purposes only and subject to change.
University Hospital
Level 7 - Child Activity Room
Play Park
Puzzle Wall
Children’s Hospital Roy Blunt NextGen Precision Health Building SLIDE PUZZLE - ELEVATION 01 SCALE: 3/4" = 1' - 0" UNDER CONSTRUCTION/Opening Summer 2024
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From Providers to Patients Alayna and Mark Williams were coworkers at MU Health Care. They never imagined that six years later, the hospital where they’d met would save their son’s life. “I was at work, and something just didn’t feel right,” says Alayna. “I was having these pains that started radiating across my back.” After rushing to triage, it was clear that at 25 weeks pregnant, Alayna was in labor. A day later, little Max arrived — at just 1 pound and 10 ounces. “There would be moments he’d come off the ventilator, but he’d end up going right back on it.” Alayna said. “It felt like we were living hour by hour.” Though Mark worked in the NICU, he wasn’t fully prepared for the months-long experience of being a father in the facility. And Alayna, as a nurse for adult patients, lacked Mark’s familiarity with NICU infant care. “I knew only enough to be scared,” she says. But together, they endured — and after two months on a ventilator, and three months total at the NICU, Max was cleared to finally go home. Today, he’s a healthy, active second grader, who loves Mario Kart and traveling the world. “It hits you in the heart, having an experience like this,” says Mark. “Where in the past, you might have approached things a little more clinically — now, I’ve been in those shoes, and
it’s a roller coaster. You’re more compassionate with the families. I’m able to connect with them and say, ‘Tomorrow is another day. You’re going to get through this.’” Alayna agrees, and emphasizes the new perspective it’s given her on patient advocacy. “Sometimes it’s the little acts — a warm bath at a bedside, or a Zoom call with family members. Even the simple things are so appreciated.” “I’m more connected, more invested in the details now. Because for my patients — far from home, trying to care for both themselves and a kid — it’s those little acts that lead to better outcomes.”
Our new NICU facilities, including completely private rooms, will ensure families have the space they need to bond with their infants, while also easing the inherent stress of a NICU environment. 20
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Building Up. Together. As an academic health system, MU Health Care is home to groundbreaking research that has made us an international health care destination. We’ve spent more than 70 years leading the way in countless aspects of care, including pediatrics. With all our resources under one roof, housed within our main campus, we’ll be able to maximize the incredible pediatric resources we already provide to mid-Missouri’s families and children.
Join us as we build our new Children’s Hospital. Together, we’ll deliver the future of health care. 573-882-3276 giving@health.missouri.edu
“It’s really all about the kids. This may be the most impactful project we have here – for our patients, our community and our state. Consolidating this wealth of knowledge and expertise on one campus will help us not only provide better care to our most vulnerable patients, but also conduct more substantial, life-saving research and train a new generation of physicians who will carry this important work forward for generations to come.” Laura Hesemann, MD Chair of Pediatrics, MU School of Medicine and MU Health Care
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mizzou.us/buildingup
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