Children's of Alabama history

The hospital, providing free medical care for all children, opened its doors in 1912 in the All Saints’ small parish house on Birmingham’s Southside.

In 1914 the hospital left the diocese and was promptly renamed and refocused to just Children's Hospital.

In 1923, Jefferson County’s newly established Community Chest—today’s United Way of Central Alabama—designated Children’s Hospital as one of its first beneficiaries.

By July 1924, the hospital was able to relocate to a new, two-story brick and concrete building it had built on the corner of 17th Avenue and 30th Street South with donations from the community.

By July 1924, the hospital was able to relocate to a new, two-story brick and concrete building it had built on the corner of 17th Avenue and 30th Street South with donations from the community. It opened its first free clinic—an outpatient ward—in 1925.

A second building was added in 1932, allowing beds for 100 patients.

A local pediatrician, Doctor Don Palmer, who started the Greenvale practice, was active in prevention efforts and began taking poison center calls (writing them on index cards) in 1958.

In 1959 the emergency department (ED) was in the “Hole” in the Hillman building, UAB’s first hospital.

After receiving federal funding, in 1961 the facility was replaced with a modern, four-story building at 1601 Sixth Ave.

By all accounts, the subspecialty of pediatric endocrinology was non-existent until the arrival of Doctor Russell Cunningham in 1964.

Paul Palmisano, M.D., MPH, arrived at UAB in 1966.

By 1967, UAB had become an independent institution and University Hospital had phased out most of its pediatric beds.

In 1971, Geni Smith, RN, finished nursing school and started working at Children’s Hospital.

He became the director of Student Affairs and assistant dean of the Heersink School of Medicine in 1973.

The poison center started providing 24/7 access in 1978.

Children’s broke ground for its new facility in August 1980, but not before hospital employees had invested $240,600 of their own money toward the building program.

In 1982 the hospital opened a new $24.5 million expansion that included an eight-story tower and parking deck to expand the capacity for the hospital.

1986 was a big year in the growth of pediatric emergency medicine at UAB. Doctor Johnston was given permission to set up an emergency medical service at Children’s, which included a pediatric emergency medicine fellowship.

Pediatric Critical Care as a formal specialty at Children’s of Alabama and within the UAB Department of Pediatrics, began with the recruitment of Doctor Samuel Tilden as the first division director of Pediatric Critical Care in 1987.

The quality of the division’s trainees is demonstrated by more than a quarter of them being recipients of the prestigious Dixon Fellowship grant, established in 1988 to support outstanding fellows for a career in academic medicine.

In 1989 the telethon generated pledges totaling more than $1 million.

Fellowship training was established and the first fellows in pediatric critical care began their postgraduate training in 1990.

Bill King RPh, MPH, DrPH, worked as a pharmacist at Children’s Hospital, taught pharmacology at Samford, joined the UAB faculty in 1991 and further developed the Regional Poison Control Center.

The first pediatric emergency medicine sub-board certification occurred in 1992.

Abused children and those at risk for abuse are the special focus of Children’s Hospital Intervention and Preventions Services (CHIPS), created in 1993.

He created the Southeast Child Safety Institute with the goal of reducing injuries to children and along with Doctor Polhill established and managed the Pediatric Health Information Line (PHIL) in 1996.

The Amelia Center, providing individual and family counseling to children and teens who experienced a death or to adults attempting to cope with the death of a child, was established in 1997.

By 1999 PEM Faculty included: (year joined faculty)

A new century of pediatric care dawned in 2000 with the opening of the five-story Children’s Center for Research and Innovation and Children’s Harbor Family Center, located on the corner of 6th Avenue South and 16th Street on Children’s downtown Birmingham campus.

List of comprehensive multi-disciplinary clinics, and their directors, inaugurated since 2001:

Beginnings of the Division In 2002, the UAB Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Medicine faced financial difficulties and the long term stability of the faculty dedicated to pediatric care was in jeopardy.

In 2003, the hospital announced a $38 million expansion that added 50 beds to the 225-bed hospital and enlarged the emergency department by 30 percent.

In 2004, he was also named the medical director of the CHIPS Center (Children’s Hospital Intervention & Prevention Services) where he sees patients referred to the outpatient clinic.

When Hurricane Katrina first hit New Orleans in August 2005, Children's of Alabama (along with other hospitals) sent helicopters and personnel to Tulane Medical Center, Ochsner, and CHNOLA in order to help evacuate pediatric patients from the hospital.

2006 also saw the creation of the Pediatric Simulation Center established at Children’s Hospital.

Children’s Hospital Pediatric Rheumatology Clinic was established in conjunction with UAB and the Arthritis Foundation in 2007.

In 2008, the hospital celebrated the 25th anniversary of Children’s Critical Care Transport Team that, employing its own branded helicopter, ensures that patients receive the fastest possible transportation to waiting medical teams.

The campaign concluded two years earlier than its expected end in 2009, raising more than $110 million.

The ever-increasing census of the UAB RNICU led to its relocation to the Women and Infant’s Center in 2010.

Further reflecting the area it serves and the services it provides, the organization changed its name to Children’s of Alabama in 2011.

The 12-story, 760,000-square-foot building was opened on June 5, 2012, and named to the Benjamin Russell Hospital for Children to honor the $25 million donation from Benjamin Russell.

Growth of the Division In 2013, Doctor Paola Mendoza-Sengco joined the division upon completion of her fellowship training in pediatric rehabilitation medicine at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center.

Doctor Erin Swanson-Kimani joined the division in 2015 after completing a combined residency in general pediatrics and physical medicine and rehabilitation at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center.

In 2017, Doctor Winkler stepped down as division director and was followed by Doctor Nancy Tofil.