In the three years since Atrium Health Navicent Beverly Knight Olson Children’s Hospital (BKOCH) opened its doors on Feb. 25, 2019, central and south Georgia’s only dedicated pediatric hospital has made strides in enhancing the lives of children through excellence in patient care and education.

When the children’s hospital opened its doors three years ago, inpatient children’s services were consolidated under one roof, providing opportunities for expansion to better serve children in need.

Key accomplishments from the past year include:

• Children suffering from COVID-19 and other infectious diseases have benefitted from the children’s hospital’s Virtual Pediatric Infectious Disease Consultation Partnership with Atrium Health Levine Children’s Hospital in Charlotte, N.C. Utilizing a “computer on wheels” equipped with a webcam, specialists at Levine Children’s Hospital can consult face-to-face with BKOCH physicians, patients and their families.

• A clinical affiliation between BKOCH and physicians at Phoebe Health in Albany allows patients in southwest Georgia to receive expanded services, including virtual and in-person pediatric specialty consultations, the most advanced pediatric diagnostics available and state of the art medical treatments close to home.

• A breast milk depot located at BKOCH allows local nursing mothers to donate their extra breast milk to benefit premature babies through a partnership with the King’s Daughters Milk Bank in Norfolk, Va. Nearly 15,000 ounces of milk were donated in the depot’s first year.

• Using the Vocera EASE app, families with babies in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit have a new way to stay connected with their infants and care teams when they cannot be at the bedside.

• Atrium Health Navicent’s “School House Health” partnership with Bibb County Schools was enhanced with the health system providing training, personal protective equipment and school nurses who help keep students healthy and able to learn.

• The children’s hospital is accredited through the Children’s Oncology Group, and for the Child Life Internship Program from the Association of Child Life Professionals.

  In 2021, the children’s hospital provided:

• More than 850 neonatal patient visits

• More than 1,200 pediatric critical care visits

• 1,240 general pediatric patient visits

• 16,846 pediatric emergency center visits, a record high since opening the facility

• 4,662 pediatric procedures and surgery cases

• 12,745 pediatric imaging visits

“Atrium Health Navicent Beverly Knight Olson Children’s Hospital is constantly innovating to provide the very best care to young patients, expanding access close to home,” said Atrium Health Navient President and CEO Delvecchio Finley. “We are thankful for the community’s philanthropy and support, and for our teammates who work daily to make our children’s hospital a beacon of hope for families across central and south Georgia.”

As the only dedicated pediatric facility in central and south Georgia, and one of the most comprehensive in the state, BKOCH provides care in general pediatrics, pediatric critical care, neonatal intensive care and outpatient services. The hospital also serves as the primary teaching site for the Department of Pediatrics at the Mercer University School of Medicine.