The King's Daughters' School history

The group raised almost $1 million and broke ground for Children’s Hospital of the King’s Daughters in 1959.

The hospital was dedicated on April 23, 1961 and on May 5, staff admitted the first children to the new, 88-bed hospital.

The King's Daughters and hospital administrator William Selvey soon led the facility to its first major milestone: its 1962 accreditation by the Joint Commission.

To keep children from falling behind in their schoolwork, the hospital school program was created in 1969, with one fulltime teacher provided by the Virginia Department of Education.

In 1972, when premature infants had a very low survival rate, Children’s Hospital of the King’s Daughters opened the region’s first neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) to help premature and ill babies grow and thrive.

The specialty of pediatric urology was added in 1973.

Our pediatric transport program expanded its services through a second transport van and an in-house chaplaincy program began in 1981; until then those services had been provided by volunteer chaplains.

In 1986, an inpatient physical/occupational therapy center was opened, as was the first CHKD Thrift Store, sponsored by The King’s Daughters.

Four of these, Steams, Bethany, Mizpah, and Volunteer Circles, were still in existence in 1991 but only Mizpah and Volunteer Circles remain.

In 1996, five primary care pediatric practices joined Children’s Health System, the beginning of the CHKD Medical Group which now consists of approximately 100 pediatricians in 18 practices from Elizabeth City to Williamsburg.

Ten years later in 1997, Doctor Nuss presented the new Nuss Procedure at an international surgery conference, officially launching his widespread adoption of the minimally-invasive procedure developed at CHKD.

Reach Out and Read, a program that fosters literacy, also started at CHKD’s primary care practices in 2001.

In 2004, CHKD opened the region’s first pediatric outpatient surgery center exclusively for children on the Peninsula at CHKD’s Health and Surgery Center at Oyster Point.

A special event was held on October 16, 2005 to pay tribute to Doctor Thomas Upham Coe, one of the Home’s most significant benefactors.

In 2008, the Board of Managers expanded the mission of KDH by opening residency to high school international students through a cooperative arrangement with the Bangor Christian School.

In 2013, CHKD completed a redesign of the hospital’s entrance, lobby and first floor walkways to improve patient access and traffic flow, and create an inviting welcome for CHKD families.