The Nemours/Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children held a celebration Thursday night to mark the upcoming opening of its quarter of a billion dollar expansion project.
The final touches are being put on a new hospital that includes a five-story atrium and patient rooms designed with the input of parents of young patients.
The event featured remarks by hospital officials as well as board member Terri Kelly, CEO of W.L. Gore and Associates, a Newark-based manufacture that employs thousands of people in the region.
Kelly, who took a board post at about the time she became Gore’s chief executive, said the expansion is good news for parents, children and even industry in the region. The state-of-the art facilities are a drawing card in recruiting associates to Gore and other companies., she said.
Another speaker was Dr. Jen Arnold, a Neonatologist who works with ill babies and is best known for her role in the reality TV show, The Little Couple, on TLC.. Arnold praised the work of Nemours in children’s health.
Nemours CEO David Bailey said that thanks to local contributions and the Nemours foundation, the hospital will open with no debt burden.
The hospital grew out of the interest of Alfred I. duPont, one of the members of the family and his widow Jesse Ball duPont. Alfred split off from his family and went on to build his considerable fortune in Florida with holdings that ranged from forests to railroads.
Nemours now has children’s hospitals and health care systems in Delaware and Florida.
