Image courtesy of The Lawrence Group
Over the past few years, hundreds of patients, family members, physicians, and nurses offered input for BJC HealthCare’s new Parkview Tower at Barnes-Jewish Hospital.
The result: two 12-story buildings—one dedicated to oncology and childbirth, the other an expansion of St. Louis Children’s Hospital—that opened February 3.
The buildings are outfitted with thoughtful details that are high-tech but comforting: touchscreen tablets for patients to let nurses know what’s needed, equipment built into the wall (goodbye, dangling cords), an exercise room with a Forest Park view. Expectant mothers can walk between contractions in a protected corridor, away from the eyes of strangers. And there are quiet spaces for family members and hospital staff to compose themselves when emotions run high.
“We don’t have a facility like this anywhere in the country,” says Dr. Tim Eberlein, director of Siteman Cancer Center. “It’s pretty exciting.”
Elsewhere, in Midtown, two cranes near Grand Boulevard recently installed power for what will become the new-and-improved SSM Health Saint Louis University Hospital, slated to open in September 2020.
Among the improvements over the existing hospital: private rooms for patients, an expanded emergency department, wider hallways for medical students and residents doing rounds, and modern amenities.
“It’s designed with the concept of bringing services to patients,” says Kelly Baumer, vice president of specialty services at SLU Hospital. “We’re doing as much as we can so patients don’t have to be transported throughout the hospital.”
The campus will also feature plenty of natural light and more greenspace. “This expands our ability to provide patient-centric medical care,” Baumer says.
St. Anthony’s Takes Mercy’s Name
On October 1, St. Anthony’s Medical Center will become Mercy Hospital South. A $54 million cancer center is slated to open there next summer. And nine new Mercy Clinic primary care locations will be constructed over the next two years in St. Louis, Jefferson, and Monroe counties.
St. Luke’s Adds Des Peres Hospital
St. Luke’s continues to grow, acquiring Des Peres Hospital—now St. Luke’s Des Peres Hospital. The goal, says St. Luke’s president and CEO Christine Candio, is to “create an even stronger healthcare network.”
A New NICU Opens at St. Mary’s
With NicView cameras, a laundry room, sleeper sofas, a family lounge, and more, a new neonatal intensive care unit on SSM Health St. Mary’s Hospital’s sixth floor can accommodate families for longer stays.
Alton Memorial Expands
Alton Memorial Hospital recently doubled the size of its medical building with a 41,000-square-foot expansion, including space for pediatric care, gynecology, behavioral health services, internal medicine, and an outpatient lab.
BJC West Breaks Ground
Last year, BJC broke ground on a replacement hospital for Barnes-Jewish West County Hospital. Slated to open next year, it will offer 64 private rooms and 14 operating rooms, as well as a medical office building.
Siteman Launches More Satellites
Siteman Cancer Center will soon add two more satellite locations, for a total of six. These smaller cancer centers, at Northwest HealthCare in Florissant and Memorial East Hospital in Shiloh, Illinois, bring cancer care closer to patients’ homes.
