Frequently Asked Questions

Children's currently has 786 licensed beds at our Arthur M. Blank Hospital, Scottish Rite, and Hughes Spalding hospitals combined. We anticipate we will need more than 750 beds by 2026 across the three hospitals.

Arthur M. Blank Hospital has 446 licensed beds, 116 more than Egleston Hospital had.

Our plans are to grow over time as necessary to serve the growing number of children that need us.

After the construction of the new hospital is complete, all clinical services at Egleston Hospital will move to Arthur M. Blank Hospital. The long-term purpose of Egleston’s campus will be determined during the planning process over the next several years.

Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta and Emory University School of Medicine have a long-standing partnership and will continue to work together to provide high-quality pediatric care, conduct groundbreaking research and train the next generation of physicians. Faculty and physicians from Emory University School of Medicine will continue to provide clinical care at all Children’s campuses, and Children’s will remain a primary training site for Emory’s pediatric medical students, residents and fellows.

Scottish Rite and Hughes Spalding will remain key Children’s hospitals.

Children’s has a long-standing history of partnering with the private practice physician community. These physicians are a core part of our history, and we plan to continue to foster these collaborations moving forward. We will work with our physician partners to determine how to effectively integrate clinical services across all three campuses.

Most medical treatments available today are discovered through research. That’s why ongoing research, across 35 pediatric specialty areas, is central to who we are at Children’s. Our historic partnerships with Emory University, Georgia Tech and other leading research institutions have helped produce groundbreaking pediatric research for decades.

The North Druid Hills campus and hospital will help accelerate our research efforts by creating dedicated space for breakthroughs to happen.

More than 20 acres of our campus is currently planned to be transformative greenspace. We will also have four times the number of hardwood trees that are currently on site, miles of walking trails on our campus, and a one-mile multiuse trail on the perimeter of the site. Scientific research suggests that a connection to nature accelerates healing. Having access to nature and views translates to 8.5 percent shorter hospital stays, increased pain tolerance, and reduced stress, blood pressure and pain*.

*Ulrich, R. S. (1984) View through a window may influence recovery from surgery Science, Vol. 224.

We anticipate a significant improvement over existing conditions due to reduced surface parking, more efficient building design, modern stormwater management techniques, use of modern construction materials, increase in vegetation and tree count, and more. We have extensively studied wind and noise patterns as well to ensure minimal impact on our neighbors.

The North Druid Hills campus will include a new hospital and an adjacent South Tower, in addition to the existing Center for Advanced Pediatrics and staff Support Center on the northwestern edge of the campus. The South Tower at Arthur M. Blank Hospital will house the Aflac Cancer and Blood Disorders Center, Transplant and Heart Center Clinics, Infusion Center, outpatient phlebotomy and family education classrooms.

We have reduced the footprint of the new structures by emphasizing vertical construction, allowing us to optimize delivery of care, improve operational efficiencies, and increase positive outcomes by reducing the amount of time our doctors and staff spend walking to provide care to our patients. Our buildings also allow us to capture healing views scientifically shown to improve outcomes, while preserving greenspace and reducing surface parking throughout the campus.

Site work has begun, and construction is anticipated to take five years.

The City of Brookhaven approved the zoning and master plan of the project. Many other government entities were involved in the planning process, including DeKalb County, Georgia Department of Transportation, Georgia Regional Transportation Authority (GRTA), the Georgia Department of Community Health and the Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC). Both GRTA and ARC analyzed the hospital’s impact on traffic, and the associated reports can be found on their websites.

We have spent many hours listening to the community and working with the best architects, traffic engineers and landscape designers to develop a campus that serves the needs of our patients and families first and foremost, creates the best possible environment for our employees, and accelerates transformation along the North Druid Hills corridor. The new campus will replace aging, 50-year-old office buildings, acres of asphalt and minimal tree cover with a pediatric healthcare campus in a forest with more than 20 acres of landscaped greenspace and miles of walking trails.

The campus will be served by MARTA bus routes, and we plan to accommodate ride-sharing services and employees who want to use a variety of alternative transportation modes. We are exploring options that will allow our employees, patient families and partners to reach the campus through shared transportation and potential shuttles, including direct shuttles to and from the Brookhaven MARTA station.

Current plans call for more than $40 million in transportation investments around the campus, including assisting with funding for a redesign of the North Druid Hills/I-85 interchange (in partnership with the City of Brookhaven, Georgia Department of Transportation and other government entities), beautification at that interchange, improving the I-85 underpass, bike and pedestrian improvements, a connection to the proposed Peachtree Creek Greenway, and millions of dollars of improvements to Cliff Valley Way, Briarcliff Road and other nearby intersections that will improve road capacity.

We have committed to invest more than $40 million to improve transportation around the campus, with much of that investment focused on accelerating the potential redesign of the North Druid Hills interchange with I-85. We cannot afford to have our patient families waiting in traffic.

At times, our construction progress may affect traffic patterns and access. Follow along with the latest construction updates taking place around our North Druid Hills campus.

The comprehensive campaign fundraising goal is $1 billion, with specific funding needs.

An effort of this magnitude requires a shared commitment, but to ensure we’re always there when kids need us, we need your help.

To bring this innovative new pediatric campus to Georgia and accelerate research, care and training, Children’s is seeking $1 billion in philanthropic support. Combined with a significant investment from Children’s of $2.4 billion, the greater Atlanta community will have the opportunity to help deliver a $3.4 billion investment that will ensure top-notch healthcare and improved access for generations of children.

The decision must be looked at through a 30-, 50-, or even 100-year lens. Through the careful stewardship of funds entrusted to us, we are able to plan a transformative investment in the health of our children. It will be our largest investment to date and will position us to meet the long-term needs of our community for decades to come.

While there are several ways to give and get involved, we invite you to make a difference and donate today. 

We envision a leading campus for pediatric care. To make that a reality, we need to hear from you. Please send us your ideas, questions and concerns.