Fact sheets

Yale-New Haven Children's Hospital fact sheet

Yale-New Haven Children's Hospital—opened in 1993 as the first full service acute care hospital for children in Connecticut—is part of Yale-New Haven Hospital and is designed to meet the special needs of children, from fetal medicine and newborn care to comprehensive pediatric services.

Providing 201 of Yale-New Haven's 900 beds, YNHCH offers the region's largest and most comprehensive array of maternity and pediatric services, including newborn special care and maternal special care units, an 11-bed pediatric intensive care unit, a 24-hour pediatric emergency department, pediatric surgery center and the Children's Clinical Research Center.

The Children's Hospital was built to the scale of a child. The furniture is child-sized and colorful and there are play areas on each unit. A staff of child life specialists use their knowledge of child development and play techniques to help transform a child's hospital experience from one potentially filled with fear, anxiety and pain into one where they can experience joy and a sense of mastery or accomplishment. Children who must repeatedly visit the hospital quickly learn that within the safety of the playroom and their relationship with the child life specialist, all of their questions, concerns and fears about their illness or hospital experience can be expressed.

The symbol of the Children's Hospital is the storybook character Babar the elephant. LEGO Systems, Inc., of Enfield, Conn., created a three-dimensional model of a watercolor painted by Babar author/illustrator Laurent de Brunhoff. The Dr. Babar sculpture is six feet tall, weighs 400 pounds and is composed of 96,647 LEGO bricks. This model, located at the atrium entrance to the Children's Hospital, is a favorite stop for children and adults alike.

View a complete list of medical services available at Yale-New Haven Children's Hospital.

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Also see: YNHH general information page

Last revised: June 9, 2004 (SD)

Home page URL: http://www.ynhh.org

All information is intended for your general knowledge and is not a substitute for medical advice or treatment for specific medical conditions. You should seek prompt medical care for any specific health issues and consult your physician before starting a new fitness regimen.