Hospital History & Historical Timeline
This is the story of a small specialty hospital for children that grew and grew to become a nationally ranked pediatric hospital and the region’s only healthcare system exclusively for children.
Once Upon A Time
Our story begins on Christmas Eve in 1928, when the manager of the Sheridan Square Theater in Pittsburgh found an abandoned baby girl in his theater.
A note signed by a Heartbroken Mother pleaded: "Please take care of my baby. Her name is Catherine. I can no longer care for her. I have eight others. My husband is out of work. She was born on Thanksgiving Day. I have always heard of the goodness of show business and I pray you will look after my little girl.
Variety Club, Tent #1, an 11-member club composed of show business people, was meeting that night. The group agreed to care for the infant and because of Catherine, unfortunate and needy children became the special interest of show business professionals.
In the 1940s, Miami Tent #33 of Variety Clubs International was founded. Its goal was to help indigent children. Variety Club soon joined forces with a new hospital that was being built outside Coral Gables and in need of financial assistance. Thanks to the founding vision of Dr. Arthur H. Weiland, Variety Children's Hospital opened its doors on March 20, 1950, just as the polio epidemic was encompassing the United States. Variety Children's Hospital was soon deemed the southern center for children suffering from polio. Throughout the years, the hospital continued to grow and offer new services to meet the needs of the community.
The Foundation For Growth
When Miami community leader Ambassador David M. Walters lost his precious granddaughter to leukemia, he vowed that no child would ever need to leave South Florida to receive the highest caliber of medical care. In 1982, Ambassador Walters activated Miami Children's Health Foundation to meet that pledge, making possible the expansion of many programs needed to meet the needs of the children of South Florida. In 1983, the hospital was renamed Miami Children's Hospital and began its steady march to international prominence.
A Dazzling New Campus
Starting in 2001, Miami Children's Hospital began transforming the campus, creating a care setting to match the caliber of its medical programs. The newly rebuilt hospital campus delighted children and families alike with its colorful forms and family friendly interiors. Features included the Michael Fux Family Center, a facility that includes a movie theater, computer-equipped family and children's libraries, kitchen and laundry facilities, as well as a small fitness gym for families.
Nicklaus Children's Today
Our flagship hospital turned 70 years young in 2020. Over the decades, the hospital has touched – and often transformed – the lives of countless children and families and supported them throughout their healthcare journey. As we celebrated this milestone birthday, we also embraced a new name and logo. We are now Nicklaus Children's Hospital, in recognition of a generous pledge from the Nicklaus Children's Health Care Foundation.
Our name may have changed over the years, but our legacy lives on, enriched all the more by our association with the Nicklaus Children's Health Care Foundation. No children's hospital in the region has a longer commitment or more experience in helping children in need. Virtually everyone in South Florida has been impacted, or knows someone whose life was touched, by Nicklaus Children's Health System.
Historical Timeline
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1950: Doors Open
1950: On March 20, 1950, Variety Children's Hospital opens to the public, fulfilling the vision of Dr. Arthur Weiland, who along with the members of the South Florida Crippled Childrens' Society fundraised and organized acquisition of land for the new hospital.
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1950s: The Polio Years
1955: Just as the polio epidemic was encompassing the United States, Variety Children’s Hospital was soon deemed the southern center for children suffering from polio. In 1955, Dr. Jonas Salk develops the cure for the disease.
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1958: Teaching Hospital
1958: The hospital becomes a teaching hospital to prepare doctors in the field of pediatrics.
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Early 1960s
Variety Children's Hospital becomes a haven for young Cuban refugee children who need medical care.
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1963: Expansion
Variety Children's Hospital begins a $2.5 million expansion, increasing its bed count and adding new outpatient facilities.
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1965: ICU
The hospital opens its first intensive care unit.
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1965: Post Graduate Course
The hospital offers the first post-graduate training course in pediatrics. Today the annual conference draws pediatricians from around the world.
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1979: Child Life
The hospital creates the first Child Life program, providing child development experts to enhance the care experience of patients.
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1982: A Foundation for Growth
When Miami community leader Ambassador David M. Walters lost his precious granddaughter to leukemia, he vowed that no child would ever need to leave South Florida to receive the highest caliber of medical care. In 1982, Ambassador Walters activated Miami Children's Health Foundation to meet that pledge, making possible the expansion of many programs needed to meet the needs of the children of South Florida.
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1983: A New Name
Variety Children's Hospital is renamed Miami Children's Hospital, its steady march to international prominence begins.
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1986: Expanding Facilities
A new 231,000 square-foot hospital is dedicated, featuring a freestanding pediatric trauma center, one of only two in the region.
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1995: CICU
The Heart Program at Miami Children's Hospital expanded with the opening of the region's first pediatric Cardiac Intensive Care Unit.
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1996: Radio Lollipop
Miami Children's Hospital becomes the first hospital in the United States to offer Radio Lollipop, an in-house radio station.
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1996: Flight Transport
The hospital's critical care transport program was renamed LifeFlight™ after a helicopter was added to the ground transport fleet to bring critically ill children to the hospital for care.
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1998: Outpatient Services
Miami Children's Hospital Dan Marino Outpatient Center opens in Weston, Florida.
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2001: Brain Institute
Miami Children's Brain Institute is founded to serve the neurological and neurosurgical needs of children.
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2003: Magnet Recognition
The hospital becomes one of the first pediatric facilities in the nation to achieve Magnet designation from the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC). The Magnet designation recognizes nursing staff for meeting the rigorous quality indicators and standards of nursing practice as defined by the American Nurses Association’s Scope and Standards for Nurse Administrators.
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2006: FIU Affiliation
Miami Children's Hospital affiliates with Florida International University College of Medicine to support pediatric medical education.
