Cook Children’s Medical Center turned 105 years old on Tuesday, March 21, and to celebrate we threw a party featuring food, music, games and entertainment. 

Guests and patient families were invited to join us for lawn activities including coloring stations, cornhole, giant Connect 4, caricature and glitter tattoo artists and a mobile Build-A-Bear unit. As a giant birthday cake was projected onto the front of the medical center, recording artist Abraham Alexander helped us sing happy birthday! 

After the sun set, we recreated a moment of magic which started at our centennial and will be a part of our birthday celebration for years to come: Good Night Lights. With help from members of the Fort Worth Police Department and Fort Worth Fire Department, we wished goodnight to the patients in the medical center by flashing lights and flashlights up to the windows. 

Click here to watch a livestream of the event.

Milestones and Growth

Cook Children’s has been caring for families in North Texas and beyond since 1918.

Since the start of our centennial, we have hit major milestones and experienced major growth while still maintaining what is of the utmost importance – our promise, “Everything for the child.”

In late 2018 our Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at Cook Children's Medical Center was the first NICU in North Texas to be recognized as a Level IV center, meaning we provide the highest level of neonatal care to critically ill infants.

In 2019 we expanded further to the west with our new urgent care and orthopedic location at Walsh Ranch.

In 2020 while navigating a pandemic we:

• Were verified as a Level I Children's Surgery Center. This verification is a first for North Texas and makes Cook Children's one of the few hospitals in the State of Texas to hold this distinction.
• We also became the first freestanding children's hospital in the world to receive full accreditation through the Society for Simulation in Healthcare (SSH), which aims to enhance the quality of health care through simulation education.
• Earned the 2020 Leapfrog Top Hospital Award. This highlighted its nationally recognized achievements in patient safety and quality, Cook Children's Medical Center was named a Top Children's Hospital nationally by The Leapfrog Group. Announced today, the Leapfrog Top Hospital award is widely acknowledged as one of the most competitive awards American hospitals can receive.

In 2021 Cook Children's Medical Center achieved its fourth consecutive Magnet® designation, making us one of only 10 freestanding children's hospitals in the world to receive this prestigious recognition four times in a row. 

We received alongside 33 hospitals in the world the Emergency Department received coveted Lantern Award from the Emergency Nurses Association (ENA). The group recognized Cook Children's Emergency Department (ED) for demonstrating exceptional and innovative performance through leadership, practices, education, advocacy and research.

We were proud to announce that our Hyperinsulinism Center is now one of six Hyperinsulinism Centers of Excellence in the world.

In 2022 we joined a partnership to enhance Neonatal care in west Texas, successfully achieved six rankings in the U.S. News and World Report’s Best Children’s Hospital list, and opened an entirely new medical center campus in Prosper.

So far in 2023 we have had two major accomplishments. We performed our first-ever conjoined twin separation and due to groundbreaking research at our neurosciences research center,  we have been able precisely identify which part of the brain is causing seizures in children with epilepsy.

For 105 years and the next, Cook Children’s is committed to excellence and doing what is best for every child, every time.

Caption: Top: The original Free Baby Hospital; Bottom left: Ida Turner; Bottom right: Matilda Nail Cook

Blaine learned that lesson earlier this month when she celebrated her birthday. She invited her friends to a party with a bounce house and even a magician. But, on the invitation she asked her guests to bring gifts for the patients at Cook Children's instead of herself.

As you might imagine, this wasn't Blaine's original idea for her birthday. Like many important life experiences, it was first a mere suggestion from her mother.

"We started talking about what it would mean to the children," said Blaine Smith. "It didn't take long for her to embrace it. The idea of bringing joy to patients took her desire to help people to a whole new level."

From stuffed animals to games, even toys for the tiniest patients, Blaine's friends delivered on her request.

"Some kids brought toys for me, but most brought presents for the patients," Blaine said.

Blaine's party was on a Sunday afternoon. By Monday, she was ready to go.

"We were driving to the hospital and she said ‘I want to do this again next year!’" said Blaine's mother.

Right after school, the 8-year-old delivered a basket full of gifts to Cook Children's, along with this note:

"Please give these presents to the children in the most unfortunate places, like kids with: canser, hurt heads and numonua."

Other Ways to Give

Birthdays are a special time to celebrate and by joining the Peter Pan Birthday Club, your child has the opportunity to impact the life of a sick child. Club members ask birthday party guests to bring a monetary gift for Cook Children's instead of a present. All of the gifts made through the Peter Pan Birthday Club help meet specific needs of children in the medical center and in the community. Contact Geraldine Williams at 682-885-4444 or email birthdayclubs@cookchildrens.org for more information.