Our Story
Founded in 1879, St. Louis Children’s is one of the premier children’s hospitals in the United States, providing a full range of nationally ranked services to kids in St. Louis and beyond. Our partners at Washington University School of Medicine (WUSM) and BJC HealthCare enable us to continue improving the well-being of the communities we serve – shaping the future of child health through leadership, education, innovation and clinical excellence.
1879
St. Louis Children’s Hospital (SLCH), the first hospital for children west of the Mississippi, opens at 2834 Franklin Street with 15 inpatient beds
1883
The new SLCH is dedicated and, in 1891, treats 51 kids Inaugural resident physician installed
1915
SLCH moves to Kingshighway Campus
Barnes Hospital opens and Washington University School of Medicine (WUSM) dedicated
1922
Treatment of world’s first diabetic infant with insulin at SLCH and WUSM by Dr. P.A. Schaffer
1949
10-bed unit opens for premature infants
Dr. Homer Nash joins SLCH medical staff as first Black physician
1957
Dr. D. Goldring establishes Division of Pediatric Cardiology
1974
30-bed NICU opens
Ambulatory Care Department opens
SLCH opens first Pediatric Dialysis Unit in the Midwest
1984
New SLCH opens with 235 beds
1997
The heart and lung transplant programs at SLCH each mark a milestone: their 100th transplant
2000
$83 million McDonnell Pediatric Research Building (MPRB) opens as a freestanding research facility to enable expansion of child health research at SLCH and WUSM
2006
Children’s Discovery Institute established by SLCH and WUSM
2007
Pediatric Clinical Research Unit (PCRU) established as part of Institute of Clinical and Translational Sciences (ICTS)
SLCH Foundation ‘Cares and Cures’ campaign raises $130 million for St. Louis Children’s Hospital and Children’s Discovery Institute
2010
Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research Center (IDDRC) founded at SLCH and WUSM
2016
Ambulatory care presence expands with opening of St. Louis Children’s Specialty Care Center – West County
St. Louis Children’s Hospital and Siteman Cancer Center establish Siteman Kids at St. Louis Children’s Hospital
2018
SLCH and WUSM named as Undiagnosed Disease Network (UDN) clinical site, one of 12 sites nationwide, and one of three Model Organism Screening Centers (MOSC) in the United States
New bed tower opens, expanding St. Louis Children’s to 417 inpatient beds, including 150-bed NICU
2021
Four additional SLCH outpatient locations open across the region, including a second Specialty Care Center in South St. Louis County, helping kids get the care they need closer to home
2022
Children’s Health Research Center renewed for 27th year WUSM Dept of Pediatrics NIH funding tops $30 million
2023 Goals
All newborns across BJC and SLCH will have whole genome sequencing to identify risk factors for lifelong illness
2024 Goals
Center for Pediatric Precision Medicine will open for patient treatment with genome editing, gene therapy and enzyme replacement therapy
2028 Goals
SLCH will complete six year, $250 million capital improvement project, adding 28 inpatient rooms and renovating 60,000-square-foot peri-operative platform with state-of-the-art technology
With more than 450 beds, SLCH will be one of the 10 largest children’s hospitals in the U.S.
2029 Goals
SLCH will celebrate its 150 year anniversary
Foundation will complete $350 million 'Together We Will' campaign