Children’s Hospital at Erlanger Reimagines How Kids Experience Health Emergencies

Current renovations to Children’s Hospital at Erlanger are making way for a sensory-friendly, more welcoming space for the more than 80,000 children and families who walk through the doors each year. Thanks to plans to reimagine the emergency room experience, our most vulnerable patients will receive more than outstanding physical support when they need to visit the ER—they'll experience a transformed lobby, entryways, and an emergency room with child-focused design elements that reduce stress, foster comfort, and help patients and their families feel connected.

Crews are finishing work on the low-acuity and sensory-friendly rooms, as well as a new behavioral space that offers dignity, privacy, and a safe environment for children experiencing mental health crisis. Future plans include improved wayfinding and entry access, a dedicated Kids’ Corner with live, interactive experiences from local Chattanooga attractions, and a Fast Track area for urgent care-type attention to treat minor medical needs.

The project is expected to be fully completed in December 2027. This transformation is the next step in our commitment to children and families facing some of life’s most difficult moments, and to a future where a child’s journey to physical and emotional well-being starts the moment they enter our doors. If you’d like to donate to this effort, please contact Amanda Fabrizio-Grzesik at amanda.fabrizio-grzesik@erlanger.org.