Brasfield & Gorrie Begins Construction on University of Mississippi Medical Center Pediatrics Tower

March 5, 2018

JACKSON, MISS. – General contractor Brasfield & Gorrie recently began construction on a $180 million new pediatrics tower at the University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMMC) in Jackson, Mississippi. A ceremonial groundbreaking was held in December and was attended by Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant, as well as other community leaders, medical professionals, current and past patients and their families, and members of the project team. Site work began in January, and the project will be completed in fall 2020.

The seven-story, 340,000-square-foot tower is being built adjacent to Batson Children’s Hospital. The structure will house a neonatal intensive care unit with private rooms, surgical suites, and an imaging center designed for children. The Children’s Heart Center, representing UMMC’s pediatric cardiovascular program, will also call the new building home.

Batson Children’s Hospital averages 9,000 admissions annually, with patients coming from all 82 counties in Mississippi and around the country to receive medical care for everything from childhood illnesses to life-threatening trauma cases.

Additionally, the hospital provides care in more than 30 specialty areas, including newborn medicine, pediatric cardiology, neurology, and surgery. It houses the state’s only pediatric intensive care unit and emergency department along with Mississippi’s only pediatric treatment programs for cancer, cystic fibrosis, sickle cell anemia, and congenital heart defects.

The new tower and its components will accommodate 30-40 percent more outpatient treatments, 40 percent more surgeries, and double the access to imaging services, according to Guy Giesecke, CEO of Children’s of Mississippi, the umbrella organization that includes Batson Children’s Hospital and all UMMC pediatric care. The addition will also provide an improved overall environment and less waiting time for patients.

Brasfield & Gorrie’s Jackson, Mississippi, office will manage the construction project. The general contractor has completed numerous prominent projects in the state, including the new Westin Jackson and the recently completed District at Eastover mixed-use urban revitalization development in the heart of downtown Jackson. The contractor is ranked third nationally among top general contracting companies in healthcare construction by Modern Healthcare magazine, based on 2016 revenues.