Modernizing Children’s National Hospital’s Digital Experience
Overview
Children’s National Hospital (CNH), founded in 1870, is widely recognized as the premier pediatric healthcare provider in the Washington, D.C., region. What began as a modest 12-bed clinic in the nation’s capital has evolved into a world-class healthcare institution, serving tens of thousands of patients annually across dozens of pediatric specialties. Today, CNH operates a 323-bed acute care hospital, 16 specialty care centers, and an extensive network of services and providers dedicated to improving pediatric care. Beyond clinical care, CNH is a leader in pediatric research, education, and advocacy, championing innovations that support the health of children and their families worldwide.
The Challenge: A Fragmented Digital Ecosystem
In 2021, Children’s National Hospital partnered with Velir to modernize and unify its digital presence. The hospital’s ecosystem of websites had become a complex patchwork of platforms, codebases, and design systems, each with its own technical limitations. This fragmentation made it difficult to maintain a consistent user experience, scale digital services, and meet accessibility standards.
CNH’s vision went beyond a simple redesign. They sought to establish a robust, future-proof digital foundation that would:
- Modernize the ecosystem on a new Sitecore platform.
- Unify multiple web properties through a combination of complete rebuilds and efficient migrations.
- Deliver accessible, WCAG-compliant navigation for patients, families, and providers.
- Enhance authoring workflows to empower content teams.
- Lay the groundwork for personalization, analytics, and future innovations.
Velir’s Approach: Strategy Meets Execution
Velir served as CNH's strategic technical partner while collaborating with Threespot Agency for the design experience. Together, we worked closely with stakeholders to ensure the hospital’s ambitious goals could be met without compromising design, usability, or scalability. Our role encompassed technical architecture, development, migration strategy, and rigorous quality assurance, with a focus on building a sustainable foundation for CNH’s digital future.
Key elements of our approach included:
- Technical Architecture & Strategy: Delivered a comprehensive technical blueprint outlining rebuild vs. migration priorities, Sitecore 10.1 environment planning, and architectural guidelines for long-term maintainability.
- Modular Development: Leveraged Sitecore Helix principles and Velir’s proprietary Thread accelerators to create a library of reusable components, ensuring scalability and consistency.
- Content & Site Migration: Rebuilt major sites using new designs such as childrensnational.org, Primary Care, International, Spanish Domestic, and the Foundation with new design and codebases; migrated Research & Innovation 'as-is' to the new platform for efficiency.
- Accessibility & Performance Optimization: Prioritized WCAG compliance, streamlined navigation for screen readers, and optimized performance to meet the needs of patients, caregivers, and staff.
- Integration-Ready Infrastructure: Designed flexible pathways for future enhancements, including analytics, personalization, and system integrations.
The Solution: A Unified Digital Platform
The result was a consolidated Sitecore platform that transformed CNH’s fragmented web presence into a cohesive, modern digital ecosystem. This transformation addressed critical gaps in accessibility, usability, and scalability while equipping CNH’s internal teams with tools to manage content more effectively.
Looking Ahead: A Digital Experience That Evolves
Since the initial platform launch, Velir and CNH have continued their partnership, focusing on iterative improvements, expanded features, and ongoing optimization. This collaboration ensures that CNH’s digital experience remains dynamic and responsive to the needs of patients, families, and providers, setting a benchmark for pediatric healthcare organizations nationwide.
Results
- Accessibility: Achieved WCAG-compliant pages and navigation across all CNH properties, eliminating usability challenges for patients and families using assistive technologies.
- Scalable Architecture: Reduced technical debt and created a flexible framework for future development and innovation.
- Empowered Content Teams: Streamlined workflows and improved authoring tools, allowing CNH’s marketing, communications, and content teams to quickly adapt to evolving needs.
- Performance and Security: Enhanced reliability and scalability for seamless launches and ongoing maintenance.
- Future-Readiness: Established a platform designed to support personalization, data-driven decision-making, and ongoing digital transformation efforts.