A grass-roots group of parents and community-based physicians had advocated for years for a dedicated, free-standing, independently-operated children’s hospital in the Richmond area.

Previously, the VCU Health System and the Bon Secours Health System had proposed working together with an independent hospital alliance to build a children’s hospital, but those plans fell through.

“I’m so glad they are improving their inpatient care experience,” said Dr. Melissa Nelson, a pediatrician and one of the leaders of the group that had operated as Pediatricians Associated to Care for Kids, or PACKids.

Nelson said community physicians still hope for a solution to fragmented care where children’s services are spread among the three health systems — VCU, Bon Secours and HCA Virginia.

“We have a lot of pediatrics going on at VCU and in our community. I think it’s time for an inventory of all of those resources — VCU’s pediatric resources and our community’s. And we need to find a way to take that inventory and put them under one roof,” Nelson said. “That’s the bigger step I think we are ready to take as a community, and I’d love for VCU to lead that step forward.”