Two new 12-story inpatient towers built by BJC HealthCare on the Washington University Medical Campus are aimed at enhancing the care and comfort of patients at Barnes-Jewish Hospital, St. Louis Children’s Hospital and Siteman Cancer Center.

Patient-care areas are being readied in the buildings, and transition into the state-of-the-art facilities will occur over the next two months. Located across from one another on Parkview Place, just east of Kingshighway Boulevard, the facilities offer patients and their families private rooms—many with views of Forest Park—and rooftop gardens. Washington University Physicians will continue to provide care to patients.

“BJC HealthCare aims to provide an exceptional experience for our patients and their families that is second to none,” said Rich Liekweg, BJC HealthCare president and CEO. “The design of these facilities is centered around the patient and also takes into account the experience of physicians, nurses and other caregivers, so they’re equipped to provide responsive, efficient care of the highest quality.”
The new facilities include:

• Parkview Tower, an expansion of Barnes-Jewish Hospital that consolidates and modernizes labor and delivery facilities in the Women & Infants Center. The tower also expands inpatient care for Siteman Cancer Center patients with complex cases.
• An expansion of St. Louis Children’s Hospital that enlarges the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) and connects via a skywalk to labor and delivery in Parkview Tower, joining space for mothers and newborns, including babies requiring critical care in the NICU. The facility also adds space for other pediatric services, including intensive care and bone marrow transplantation.

More than 750 patients, physicians, nurses, nonclinical staff members and others participated during the design phase, offering ideas about how people would use and experience spaces within the new buildings.

“People, most especially our patients, are at the heart of these facilities,” said Paul J. Scheel Jr., MD, associate vice chancellor for clinical affairs at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and CEO of Washington University Physicians. “The design reflects this focus and, we believe, will help foster the very best care possible in an environment that is comfortable and reassuring for patients and their families.”

Noteworthy design elements of Parkview Tower and the St. Louis Children’s Hospital expansion include:

• Private rooms designed for the comfort of patients and with accommodations for family members. The buildings’ layouts and orientation of patient rooms maximize views of Forest Park. Designers also evaluated how bed placement, light exposure and color would enhance the comfort of patients and the work environment of doctors and other caregivers.
• Dedicated corridors for patients and for medical and hospital staff members that are designed to reduce distractions and noise that can interfere with rest and recuperation.
• Rooftop gardens—two at Parkview Tower and one at the St. Louis Children’s Hospital expansion—will provide patients and their families with calm and comfortable outdoor environments.

Barnes-Jewish Hospital’s Parkview Tower

By the numbers

Square feet: 558,000

• Stories: 12
• Parking spaces: 406

Siteman Cancer Center space

• 160 private rooms
• 10 bone marrow transplant intensive care unit (ICU) beds

Women & Infants Center space

• 52 obstetrics inpatient beds
• 18 labor and delivery rooms
• 12 women’s assessment rooms
• 2 C-section rooms
• 1 fetal surgery operating room

Other space for adult patients

• 15 inpatient ICU beds
• 12 operating rooms
• 5 interventional rooms

Additional features

• The lantern: Facing Kingshighway Boulevard, Parkview Tower’s lantern-like design element provides indoor quiet areas with views of Forest Park and is a signature feature visible from the building’s exterior.
• Art with a story to tell: Themed art was selected for each floor that is intended to inspire conversations. Themes include: family time, vintage Americana and international flair, celebrating women’s spirit, and road trips out West.

St. Louis Children’s Hospital expansion

By the numbers

• Square feet: 222,000
• Stories: 12
• Pediatric beds: 96
• 40 new, private neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) beds connected to labor and delivery area in Parkview Tower via new pedestrian bridge.

Other highlights

• New ambulatory procedure center.
• A new helipad and elevators provide better access for NICU and other pediatric patients. One new elevator is sized to accommodate ECMO technology, a heart-lung machine that is used to treat critically ill newborns and children with severe breathing problems.
• A second Ronald McDonald family room.

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Barnes-Jewish Hospital is a 1,386 bed teaching hospital affiliated with Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Missouri. The hospital has a 1,519-member medical staff, and has been listed on the elite honor roll of best hospitals by U.S. News & World Report for 24 consecutive years. Barnes-Jewish is a member of BJC HealthCare, which provides a full range of health care services through its 15 hospitals and more than 100 health care sites in Missouri and Illinois.

Founded in 1879, St. Louis Children’s Hospital is one of the premier children’s hospitals in the United States. It serves not just the children of St. Louis, but children across the world. The hospital provides a full range of pediatric services to the St. Louis metropolitan area and a primary service region covering six states. As the pediatric teaching hospital for Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis Children’s Hospital offers nationally recognized programs for physician training and research, including the Magnet Designation for nursing excellence. For more information, visit www.StLouisChildrens.org, or visit us on Facebook and @STLChildrens on Twitter.

Siteman Cancer Center, ranked among the top cancer treatment centers by U.S. News & World Report, also is one of only a few cancer centers in the U.S. to receive the highest rating of the National Cancer Institute (NCI). Comprising the cancer research, prevention and treatment programs of Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Siteman is Missouri’s only NCI-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center and the state’s only member of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network.

Washington University School of Medicine‘s 2,100 employed and volunteer faculty physicians also are the medical staff of Barnes-Jewish and St. Louis Children’s hospitals. The School of Medicine is one of the leading medical research, teaching and patient-care institutions in the nation, currently ranked sixth in the nation by U.S. News & World Report. Through its affiliations with Barnes-Jewish and St. Louis Children’s hospitals, the School of Medicine is linked to BJC HealthCare.

BJC HealthCare is one of the largest nonprofit health care organizations in the United States, delivering services to residents primarily in the greater St. Louis, southern Illinois and mid-Missouri regions. Serving the health care needs of urban, suburban and rural communities, BJC includes 15 hospitals and multiple health service organizations. Services include inpatient and outpatient care, primary care, community health and wellness, workplace health, home health, community mental health, rehabilitation, long-term care and hospice. BJC’s nationally recognized academic hospitals, Barnes-Jewish and St. Louis Children’s hospitals, are affiliated with Washington University School of Medicine.