Shriners Hospital for Children Medical Center will open its doors on Monday, April 17 at its new location on South Limestone across from the Albert B. Chandler Hospital. The new facility is designed to better meet the orthopedic needs of children and their families.

“For 90 years, Shriners Hospitals for Children — Lexington brought hope and healing to children and teens at our iconic spot on Richmond Road. On April 17, 2017, Shriners Hospitals for Children — Lexington will return to its downtown roots and open as Shriners Hospital for Children Medical Center,” Morgan Hall, Public Relations for Lexington’s Shriners Hospital for Children Medical Center, said.

The facility will begin seeing patients on its opening day, starting with 91 patients in the clinic and four patients in surgery. There will be a total of 400 patients in the clinic and 25 for surgery throughout the first week.

“We are operating at light capacity as we get acclimated to the new building,” Hall said. “Starting the week of May 8 we will go back to full operational levels, which is roughly 120 patients in the clinic and 15 surgeries per day.”

Shriners Medical Center partners with UK and several other universities to offer a learning experience for orthopedic residents. The residents can participate in a six-week rotation in the medical center. The facility’s anesthesia departments also receive two residents per month.

“Our resident program has always been one that has been highly sought after and that will only increase with the new facility,” Hall said.

The new Shriners Medical Center is equipped with the latest and most modern technology, according to Hall. The first EOS imaging system in Kentucky will be used in the facility.

“The EOS system captures full-size, whole-body images of a standing or seated patient in a single scan. Images are taken from multiple angles at the same time, reducing the number of X-rays and improving the surgeon’s ability to diagnose and plan for surgery based on 3-D views,” Hall said. “Frontal and lateral images of any length can be acquired simultaneously with a large reduction in radiation dose and without compromising image quality. Physicians are able to view all areas of the body with one image, rather than piecing together multiple images, as is done with digital radiology.” 

The official dedication ceremony will be held on the organization’s “Hospital Day,” May 21. Donors, board members, individuals from other Shriners Hospitals and the community will be invited to tour the previous hospital, located on Richmond Road, and interact with physicians and various patients.