By GREGORY ZELLER //
It’s a $110 million resource that most Long Island parents will be glad is here – and all hope they never see.
Cohen Children’s Medical Center on Tuesday officially unveiled its new Damaghi Family Pediatric Surgical Operating Complex, a 24,000-square-foot surgical center that significantly ups the profile of what is already New York State’s No. 1 provider of pediatric-health services and largest Level 1 Pediatric Trauma Center.
Specializing in cardiothoracic, neurologic and orthopedic procedures, the complex features eight child-friendly operating suites with “majestic photo walls” that create what Northwell called “an unintimidating environment.”
Besides the colorful murals, each room is equipped with audio and video systems that allow patients to listen to music and watch videos, with “potentially frightening surgical instruments” cleverly hidden away until the procedure starts.
“The importance of this pediatric surgical operating complex cannot be overstated,” said Northwell Health Senior Vice President Charles Schleien, chairman of the health system’s pediatric services. “This is really a transformative space for patients, our community and for Northwell.”
Charles Schleien: Master of understatement.
In addition to family-friendly rest areas, a “medical playroom” designed to soothe pre- and post-op nerves and other creature comforts for young patients and their families, the complex is stocked with state-of-the-art surgical tools and technologies.
Each 600-square-foot operating suite features no-shadow lighting, the latest 3D-imaging tech and four 50-inch display monitors, with most of the surgical equipment suspended from a single overhead boom. The complex’s pediatric Post-Anesthesia Care Unit, meanwhile, includes 27 recovery bays with “physiological monitoring towers” specially tuned to track vitals in the youngest patients.
“We understand that the surgical and anesthetic needs of neonates, infants, children and adolescents are absolutely unique and quite different than those for adults,” noted Schleien, who’s also a professor of pediatrics and anesthesiology at the Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell.
The complex is the culmination of a multiyear effort that began with the 2013 opening of the Blumenfeld Family Pavilion, a five-story extension at the Cohen Children’s Medical Center renamed in 2019 to honor of a longtime benefactor of the children’s hospital.
When the pavilion opened nine years ago, designers left open space for the future installation of new pediatric operating rooms. Northwell worked steadily toward that goal until 2019, when – at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic – the still-unfinished spaces were converted into an emergency coronavirus triage unit.
Construction on the Pediatric Surgical Operating Complex finally began in late 2021. And now, the youth-oriented surgical hub – including units dedicated to emergency medicine, diagnostic studies and pediatric intensive care – is finally a reality, thanks in part to an undisclosed gift from Great Neck-based multinational manufacturer First Quality Enterprises and its founders, the Damaghi family, which has supported Northwell for more than two decades.
While the evolution of the Pediatric Surgical Operating Complex was slower than the health system might have liked, it was well worth the wait, according to Schleien.
“The goal was to complete this crucial project through donor support,” the pediatric chairman noted. “We’re grateful to the Damaghi family and First Quality Enterprises, and all of the members of our Cohen Children’s Advisory Board, for stepping up.”
