A $20 million, 80-bed Children's Hospital at Christus Schumpert in Shreveport will begin construction this spring.

The five-story structure will be built at the hospital's St. Mary Place facility and is scheduled to open in 2007.

The Children's Hospital will be located on the northeast wing of St. Mary Place and will include a 40-bed neonatal intensive care unit. It will fill a need for pediatric subspecialists in northwest Louisiana.