CHKD Celebrates Opening of Children’s Pavilion Inpatient

Norfolk, Virginia, Sept. 30, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Children’s Hospital of The King’s Daughters (CHKD) celebrated the forthcoming opening of inpatient psychiatric care in the new 14-story Children’s Pavilion with an official dedication ceremony this morning.

Speakers at the ceremony included Senator Creigh Deeds; John Littel, Secretary of Health and Human Resources, Commonwealth of Virginia; Norfolk Mayor Kenneth Alexander; former Governor Ralph Northam; Jim Dahling, President and CEO of CHKD Health System; Akhil Jain, Board Chair of CHKD Health System; John Lawson, Chair of CHKD’s Lighting the Way fundraising campaign for mental health; Carl Petersen, DO, CHKD’s Chief of Mental Health Services; and Amy Sampson, CHKD Senior Vice-President and Chief Engagement and Innovation Officer. 

“There’s been a lot said that this hospital is going to be the best in the state, but I’ve been to a bunch of hospitals, and it’s going to be the best in the country,” said Senator Deeds, whose son, Gus, struggled with mental illness before committing suicide outside the family’s rural Virginia home in 2013. “I can’t explain how meaningful it was to see this beautiful hospital for the first time – to tour the rooms and see how much care and attention went into creating a healing environment. I can’t think of a more worthy investment than in the mental wellbeing and health care of children. This will be a place where kids get better, where hope is restored to families, and where others all over the country, and probably all over the world, look to for advances in research and treatment.”

“Children’s Pavilion marks a major step forward in addressing the mental health crisis currently overwhelming the Commonwealth,” said Mayor Alexander. “When fully operational, this beautiful facility will admit about 2,500 children as inpatients every year, provide 48,000 outpatient therapy appointments, and add 400 new jobs. Norfolk is proud to be…