Children enter our doors at St. Francis Medical Center ill, frightened and anxious. The Pediatric team at SFMC strives to provide care not only to the child, but to the family also by putting a kind, human face on healthcare.

The Pediatric service at SFMC consists of a 28-bed floor and a six-bed Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU). Each is decorated to make the child’s stay a little more pleasant. From the stars on the ceiling to the primary colors used in the room’s décor, the focus is on making the child feel safe and secure. In addition, we care for the family as a whole, providing a comfortable bed for a parent as well as courtesy meals.

Lengthy pediatric illnesses require some families to stay at the hospital for extended periods of time, so we provide a washer and dryer on the floor for their convenience. The pediatric staff members are dressed in bright, colorful scrubs that also help the child feel more comfortable about his or her surroundings.

Our playroom provides an area for the child to go, with supervision, to have some play time. Children’s videos, games, and other age appropriate toys are provided. Wagons are available so that the children who are unable to visit the playroom can take a ride. Painful procedures such as blood drawing, IV starts and lumbar punctures are done in our treatment room so that the child knows his or her room is a "safe place."

Pediatric nurses are trained to take care of many patients having a wide variety of diagnoses. These patients range from critically ill children in the intensive care unit, to those who are on the pediatric floor recovering from minor surgery or medical problems.

Pediatric nurses have many special attributes. With the ages of these children varying from birth to 18 years, these nurses have to be skilled in all developmental stages.

When children feel threatened and nothing seems "safe," the pediatric nurse is there to deal not only with their physical needs but their emotional and spiritual needs as well. Therefore, regardless of outcome, our patients and families feel they were treated as if they were our own.

Our vision is to become one of the nation's best pediatric centers, because we really do care about our kids.