Published on: 3/21/2010

On March 20, Miami Children's Hospital celebrated its 60th anniversary, bringing together patients, families, physicians, MCH employees, donors and members and leaders of the community with a large carnival-like birthday party in the hospital’s courtyard.

View photos from our 60th anniversary celebration.

MIAMI CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL HISTORICAL TIMELINE:

March 21, 1950	Variety Children’s Hospital opened to the public.
Mid 1950s	The hospital focused on the medical and surgical needs of the children of the community.
1955	The hospital served as a center for polio victims until Dr. Jonas Salk developed a cure for the disease in 1955.
1958	The hospital became a teaching hospital to prepare doctors in the field of pediatrics.
Early 1960s	Variety Children’s Hospital became a haven for young Cuban refugee children who needed medical care.
1964	Variety Children’s Hospital began a $35 million expansion, increasing its bed count and adding new outpatient facilities.
1965	The hospital opened its first intensive care unit.
1966	The hospital offered the first post-graduate training course in pediatrics. Today the annual conference draws pediatricians from around the world.
1970s	The hospital created one of the first Child Life programs, providing child development experts to help children adapt to hospital life.
1982	Ambassador David M. Walters activated the Miami Children’s Hospital Foundation.1983
1986	A new 213,000-square-foot hospital is dedicated.
1990	The hospital’s George E. Batchelor Research and Academic Pavilion opened.
1991	Miami Children’s opened a Bone Marrow Transplant Unit.
1995	The Congenital Heart Institute at Miami Children’s is founded.
1995	Miami Children’s launched its Health on Wheels mobile health units to provide care for underserved children.
1996	MCH became the first hospital in the United States to offer Radio Lollipop, an in-house radio station.
1997	The hospital’s critical care transport program was renamed LifeFlight™ and a helicopter was acquired to bring critically ill children to the hospital for care.
1998	The Miami Children’s Hospital Dan Marino Center opened in Weston, Florida.
2001	The Miami Children’s Brain Institute was founded.
2001	Miami Children’s Hospital Palmetto Bay Center began serving children in South Dade.
2001	Miami Children’s Rehabilitation Services – Miami Lakes opened.
2003	The hospital exterior was recreated with the completion of a project to encapsulate buildings in hurricane-protective panels. The colorful panels give the hospital an entirely new look.
2006	A new 68,000-square foot Ambulatory Care Building was completed.
2007	Miami Children’s Hospital affiliated with Florida International University College of Medicine to support pediatric medical education.
2008	Miami Children’s Hospital Doral Center began serving patients.
2009	Miami Children’s Hospital West Kendall Center opened.
2009	Miami Children’s Hospital Dan Marino Center expanded service offerings to include a new Urgent Care Center.

About Nicklaus Children's Health System Where Your Child Matters Most™ (2026)

For more than 75 years, Nicklaus Children's Health System has stood as a beacon of hope for children and families across the state of Florida and beyond. Nicklaus Children's Hospital is South Florida's #1 nonprofit, freestanding specialty licensed hospital exclusively for children. Nicklaus Children's provides pediatric care across a growing network of hospital and community-based partnerships, including care within NCH North Hospital in Naples, Jupiter Medical Center, select Baptist Health Hospital pediatric emergency units, and Nicklaus Children's Hospital Fort Lauderdale and Nicklaus Children's Hospital Coral Springs each located on the campuses of Broward Health. The hospitals and their network of more than 35 outpatient care locations offer lifesaving care in Miami-Dade, Broward, Martin and Palm Beach counties. outpatient locations include an array of urgent care, pediatric primary care and subspecialty care centers and are either hospital-based or outpatient locations under Nicklaus Children's Pediatric Specialists, LLC (NCPS).Providing a pipeline of future physicians and groundbreaking research, Nicklaus Children's is an academic and clinical affiliate of the Florida International University Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine. Nicklaus Children's is home to centers of excellence including the Helen & Jacob Shaham Cancer & Blood Disorders Institute, the Nicklaus Children's Orthopedic, Sports Medicine and Spine Institute, Nicklaus Children's Neuroscience Institute and Nicklaus Children's Heart Institute. The 474-bed system is renowned for excellence in all aspects of pediatric medicine, with many programs routinely ranked among the nation's best by U.S. News & World Report since 2008. Nicklaus Children's also includes a nonprofit physician practice subsidiary with more than 40 pediatric specialties and an ambulatory surgery center. For more information, visit nicklauschildrens.org.