The Pediatric Emergency Department Opens in a New Facility

The Pediatric Emergency Department opened in the new Barbara and Bill Richardson Pavilion and UNM Children’s Hospital on June 9th 2007. This state of the art facility provides the child friendly physical space for an already established pediatric emergency services practice that first opened its doors at the University of New Mexico Hospital in 1994. The staff worked vigorously to set up the PED that morning and were excited to care for the first pediatric patients in the new facility. 

This is the vision of Robert Sapien, M.D., who established Pediatric Emergency services at UNMH. As a native to New Mexico, he returned home to Albuquerque and UNMH after receiving training at Harbor UCLA in pediatrics and LA County USC in pediatric emergency medicine. He is now Chief of the Division of Pediatric Emergency Medicine and is involved in all aspects of pediatric emergency practice, education and research.

Currently, Bryan Upham, M.D., serves as the Medical Director for the Pediatric Emergency Department and with a group of attending physicians from the Division of Pediatric Emergency Medicine who are trained in pediatrics and pediatric emergency medicine, work with a team of dedicated nurses, technicians and ancillary staff in the Pediatric ED providing specialized, compassionate, family centered, emergency services for ill and injured children in New Mexico and the southwest.

The new Pediatric ER is located on the first floor of the facility adjacent to the UNMH Main ER and has its own secured waiting room. It is brightly colored with state of the art equipment and 12 private treatment rooms. Full service resuscitation and trauma rooms are available for the severely ill and level 1 pediatric trauma patients.

The pavilion itself is architecturally pleasing, spacious and beautiful. It has a new café, meditation room and gift shop on the first floor. A large outdoor courtyard  is located around the entrance with patient drop-off.