'Four City Blocks' Long, New CHOP Hospital In KOP Taking Shape

KING OF PRUSSIA, PA — Construction continues on a new, state of the art Children's Hospital of Philadelphia facility in King of Prussia.

The 272,000 square foot addition to the existing CHOP facilities on South Goddard Boulevard mean that there will be 408,000 square feet all told, a complex which will stretch for four city blocks once it is completed. It will also feature the first pediatric emergency room in Montgomery County.

"We’re creating something utterly new," a spokesperson said. "If families that come to KOP’s Urgent Care need an Emergency Department, it’s a walk down the hall, not a trip in the car."

Officials are also confident that the breadth of the facility and staff will mean that children will not encounter the "grown up issues" common to adult emergency rooms. Patient rooms will be dedicated for one patient only, and there will be playrooms on every floor, as well as colored walls, to engage children.

The hospital, which was announced in June 2018, began construction in Sept. 2019, and is expected to be operational by Nov. 2021, CHOP said.

CHOP touted the jobs added by the facility amid the pandemic, noting that they expected to have a "powerful economic impact on the community."

Other features of the incipient inpatient facility include 52 beds: 16 in the pediatric intensive care unit, and 36 medical surgical beds. There is also a 600-space free parking lot.