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n the sunny morning of April 1, family, friends, and guests were invited to witness the official ribbon 
cutting of the new Studer Children’s Hospital at Sacred Heart. Sacred Heart marked 50 years as 
Northwest Florida’s only children’s hospital by presenting a dedication ceremony for its new four-story, 
$85 million facility. With 126 beds, the Studer Family Children’s Hospital plans to increase access to 

specialized pediatric care and put multiple services in one convenient location on Sacred Heart’s Pensacola campus. 
Patient care at the facility is scheduled to begin in May.

Joseph R. Impicciche, JD, MHA, president and chief operating officer of Ascension said, “Ascension is fortunate 

to serve Northwest Florida with the region’s only hospital solely dedicated to the care of sick and injured babies 
and children. This care ties back to our mission which calls us to care for all, especially those most in need. The new 
children’s hospital will offer a wide range of services under one roof, all available regardless of a parent’s ability         
to pay.”

The new children’s hospital includes a pediatric emergency department, 72-bed neonatal intensive care unit, 

medical, surgical, and observation beds, a pediatric imaging department, pharmacy, inpatient rehabilitation gym, 
child-life playrooms, outpatient lab services and a new family-friendly dining venue. The facility is more than 
150,000 square feet, with an additional 28,000 square feet of shell space to allow for future expansion.

The ribbon cutting coincided with the children’s hospital’s 50th anniversary. At the time of the founding, no 

single facility had all of the specialized equipment or nursing personnel needed to care for children. A group of local 
pediatricians agreed that children’s care should be centralized in one location to enable the investment in pediatric 
equipment and specialized nurses. The doctors approached Sacred Heart with a proposal to convert a dormitory for 
the old Sacred Heart nursing school into a children’s hospital. After only two weeks’ deliberation, the Daughters of 
Charity announced plans to create the area’s first facility dedicated solely to the care of infants and children. Sacred 
Heart Children’s Hospital opened on April 1, 1969.

photos & story by

Kristina Wright

   VIP Pensacola at Studer Children’s Hospital at Sacred Heart 

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May 2019   |   25 

Brian Wyer & Drew Hardgrave 

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25-26 Event_SacredHeart_May19.indd   1

4/30/19   8:11 AM