Dressed for success in neon safety vests and regulation hard hats, nearly 300 supporters clapped and cheered as Valentina sounded the airhorn while a crane operator raised two special beams to top out the future Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital Wesley Chapel.

After inpatient treatment that included a bone marrow transplant for a challenging form of leukemia at Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital in St. Petersburg, Valentina and her family commute to St. Petersburg for follow-up care. Though she and her sister, Isabella, love the bright colors and warm staff in St. Petersburg, the whole family is excited that Valentina’s visits will be close to their Wesley Chapel home when the new hospital opens in fall 2027.

Alicia Schulhof, M.H.A., FACHE, president of Johns Hopkins All Children’s, welcomed the crowd of hospital and community leaders, local and state officials, physicians, donors, patients and families. 

“We are reaching new heights, but this moment is about much more than placing the final beam of this incredible facility,” Schulhof says. “We have a mantra that says ‘All we do. All for Kids.’ You can see it and feel it happening today. This will be a place designed for healing, where we provide advanced medicine, compassion, care and support.”

“It’s the latest chapter in our 100-year legacy of caring for children,” Schulhof continues. “In 1926, community leaders in St. Petersburg recognized the need of local children. That legacy continues today as we bring our exceptional care to this community.”

Ray “Chip” Newton III and Matt Sokolowski, the respective chairs of the Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital and Johns Hopkins All Children’s Foundation boards, thanked the generous donors whose commitment is helping to bring advanced care to families in Wesley Chapel.

The new hospital’s first employee is Chief Administrative Officer Joseph Perno, M.D., M.B.A., who has been a pediatric emergency medicine physician at Johns Hopkins All Children’s for more than 20 years and served as vice president of medical affairs since 2019. Perno brings deep knowledge of All Children’s culture and care to the new facility, which will include a 17-room Emergency Center, 56 inpatient rooms, inpatient and outpatient pediatric rehabilitation services, pediatric specialty clinics, four operating rooms with space for additional ORs, and more.

“What we are building here matters,” Perno says. “I’m so happy to help build this hospital from the ground up to serve children like Valentina and provide shorter drives and faster care designed for our patients and their families.”

Justin Olsen, J.D., M.H.A., FACHE, chief operating officer for Johns Hopkins All Children’s, marveled at the site’s quick transformation from an empty field at the March 2025 groundbreaking to the five-story structure now standing behind the speaker’s podium.

“This building is a visible reminder of collaboration and care, and a milestone in our hundred years of caring for children with excellence and compassion,” Olsen says. “With a century of history behind us, the future is taking place here in Wesley Chapel.”

“It is being built right in front of us — one beam, one floor and one patient at a time. Every part reflects our shared mission to deliver the very best care closer to home, in a hospital where families feel supported and children can heal.”

Many in the crowd had signed their names to the beam that was about to be lifted to the top of the building (along with a small tree that symbolizes good luck, growth and safety) with help from Valentina and Isabella.

When the cheering ended, attendees had the opportunity to tour a portion of the hospital to see some of the areas where emergency care, outpatient care and surgery will take place and learn more about the services that will be available to children and families in the Wesley Chapel area.