Children’s Pavilion Ribbon Cutting

March 9, 2016
Children’s Pavilion

We wouldn’t be here today without John Duval’s leadership. Thank you, John. And of course, this building and our mission has the full support and investment of our governor, Terry McAuliffe, who’s been a great partner from Day 1. But I also want to recognize the Richmond Community, who made this happen. You asked for a facility like this, and we heard you. This is the culmination of all of your passions for children’s health and our shared commitment to making life better for children.

Your passions have resulted in an impressive facility. This really is the most advanced outpatient center for children in our region, and an indication of where care is going. Ninety percent of children’s health is outpatient, and that will only increase.

But your passions really aren’t about a building; they’re about the future of health care. This pavilion represents that future: an oasis for our children that is safe and welcoming, that will make a profound difference in the lives of children and families. So let me welcome you to the future of health and medicine at VCU!

The facility continues VCU’s legacy of being relevant to those we serve. We provide exceptional care for all people, including the most vulnerable in our communities. We have made great strides in advancing children’s health, and we are recognized leaders in pediatric medicine, including treating the most difficult and complex pathologies imaginable. I am proud that we have saved so many lives for so many years.

We have also committed to an interprofessional model of care, and the pavilion fosters that. It’s not just pediatricians — it’s specialists and subspecialists from a range of fields, and it’s physicians working together with nurses and therapist and pharmacists and dieticians and so many others who are committed to the children and families who make our region great.

This is just the beginning. We will continue to evolve. We will stay ahead of the needs of our changing community, and rise to meet those needs in the most relevant way, through clinical care and life-saving research and the educational experience that’s at the heart of our mission.

Our promise today and always is that the patients we serve will have the best care possible, generation after generation. And I am thrilled about the difference this facility will make as both a father and as president of VCU and VCU Health. Not only am I thrilled for Richmond, but four our commonwealth and for the mid-Atlantic region. This is so much more than facility. It’s a new day in children’s health care.

Thank you for being part of it.