Together, as experts in children’s mental health and wellness, and as invested members of our community, St. Louis Children’s Hospital and KVC Missouri are working to address a critical care gap for kids suffering from mental health conditions.
St. Louis has fewer than half of the pediatric mental health beds needed, and this shortage often results in kids spending far too long in emergency rooms without receiving appropriate care. The KVC campus is already zoned and approved for children’s residential mental health treatment and has provided care to children for more than 150 years. To best meet the critical needs of kids today, our vision is to provide a full continuum of mental health care in a safe and healing environment for children, staff and the community. Our project will replace aging buildings with a beautiful, one-story building designed intentionally for kids.
We recognize that being a good neighbor requires dialogue, so we’d like to continue to share responses to questions we’ve heard from the community. We also invite you to send questions to [email protected].
Why are St. Louis Children’s Hospital and KVC partnering?
Kids live in an increasingly complicated world. More children across the country and in our region are experiencing depression, anxiety and other trauma-related conditions than ever before. One in six youth aged 6-17 experience a mental health disorder each year and, alarmingly, suicide is the second leading cause of death for 10- to 14-year-olds. Our children are resilient, but they need help. As experts in pediatric mental health, St. Louis Children’s Hospital and KVC Missouri are committed to being a part of the solution and propose to replace aging infrastructure on the KVC Webster Groves campus with a modest, one-story building.
Is it true the campus is changing from an educational site to a hospital?
KVC’s campus has been zoned for most of its long history for both educational services and residential care for 72 children. Given the urgent need facing kids today, KVC and St. Louis Children’s Hospital have partnered to shift the campus to provide inpatient care for up to 65 kids, while reducing the number of residential beds to 12, both of which will be housed in the new facility.
Why a hospital?
The word “hospital” can be misleading, but it is the key to better care for kids and security for the neighborhood. A building designed and built as a hospital provides structural and operational safeguards, not available in other buildings. Health care regulations are very precise, and from a regulatory perspective, a hospital provides the ultimate combination of security and clinical care for acute needs.
What services will be provided on the mental wellness campus?
Our plan is for KVC to continue to operate its K-12 therapeutic school, and through the partnership with St. Louis Children’s Hospital, together we will provide a full continuum of mental health services including:
- 65 inpatient beds for kids who need close medical supervision and care.
- 12 residential beds, located in the hospital, for kids experiencing emotional and mental health challenges who will benefit from extended clinical treatment.
- Outpatient care for patients who need ongoing treatment.
This approach provides a spectrum of care from experienced and specially trained pediatric behavioral health clinicians, including experts from Washington University School of Medicine, for kids and families in need.
What is the size of the proposed facility?
Aging buildings on the current campus are being removed and a one-story hospital would be built for inpatient and residential care. Outpatient services will be provided in another redesigned building already on the campus. Additionally, green space and landscaping around the campus will be enhanced.
Did construction already start?
No, the only activity underway is the demolition of the aging buildings. These buildings were vacated years ago and needed to be removed regardless of this proposal.
Will there be an emergency room? Will there be ambulances?
No. There will not be an emergency department. This is a dedicated pediatric mental health hospital. Kids and their families will most often come in private transportation. If an ambulance is used, it would be advised to arrive without lights or sirens. Many will come via KVC and St. Louis Children’s own transportation.
Who will be cared for at this location?
We will care for children from communities across the region, including from Webster Groves. The vast majority of kids who need the type of care being proposed are struggling with depression, anxiety or trauma—struggles many of us may face at some point in our lives. When these struggles become overwhelming, kids need several days in a safe space where they can get the intensive care and support that they need so they can return home to their families to continue treatment. This is not a juvenile detention center; it is health care for kids.
How will this project ensure the safety of the neighbors?
St. Louis Children’s and KVC are experts in operating hospitals and mental health facilities. The hospital will be designed with structural, operational, and technological safeguards, and will include dedicated safety and security officers on-site 24/7. One safety measure includes technology where if a patient attempts to leave, security is alerted to ensure they remain safely in the building. With our combined experience and resources, Children’s and KVC will provide an ideal therapeutic environment that ensures the safety of our patients, staff and the community.
Why did St. Louis Children’s select KVC?
St. Louis Children’s is a world-renowned pediatric hospital and is the oldest pediatric hospital west of the Mississippi River. This year, Children’s was named as one of the top 50 providers for behavioral health in the nation by US News and World Report. KVC is a well-recognized, national leader in mental wellness services for 50 years. As St. Louis Children’s conducted a comprehensive national search for a partner to help address the pediatric mental health crisis, it chose KVC for its expertise. This campus will continue St. Louis Children’s long tradition of providing the highest quality health care for kids.
Why Webster Groves?
Not only is KVC the right partner; Webster Groves is also the ideal location. KVC’s Webster Groves campus has been a place to care for kids for more than 150 years. The proposal builds on decades of providing mental health care on the campus and evolves it to provide the care our kids need today. It will provide a full continuum of care in one location; one that is centrally located, is peaceful, and an ideal healing environment for children. Kids receiving treatment thrive when they can look outside and see trees, people, pets, and other signs of normal life. In fact, there are similar pediatric mental health facilities located in residential communities throughout the United States for this reason.
What will the impact be to the Webster Groves community?
St. Louis Children’s is committed to being a good neighbor and to ensuring that its partnership with KVC on the Webster Groves campus results in the delivery of the safest care for both kids and neighbors. This includes special attention to minimizing traffic disruption, maintaining a residential and park-like feel, and actively supporting the community. We are working closely with city officials to ensure we fulfill this commitment.
