Hospitals

Child magazine named St. Louis Children’s Hospital one of the 10 best pediatric hospitals in the nation in 2005, the second consecutive time it has received this honor.

At a Glance
250 licensed beds; 26 pediatric intensive care unit beds; 52 neonatal intensive care unit beds; 5 pediatric bone marrow transplant unit beds; over 275,000 patients treated annually.

Founded in 1879, St. Louis Children’s Hospital is the seventh oldest pediatric hospital in the United States and the oldest west of the Mississippi. The hospital provides care in more than 50 specialty areas, and has seen patients from all 50 states and 56 countries. In 2005, U.S. News & World Report ranked the hospital #13 on its list of the Best Pediatric Hospitals in America.  The hospital has also received the nation’s highest honor for nursing, the Magnet designation from the American Nurses Credentialing Center.  

The hospital’s academic and physician partner, Washington University School of Medicine, is ranked as the #4 medical school in the country by U.S. News. The School of Medicine is a national leader in education, training, research and pediatric scholarship.

National and international centers of excellence include the world’s largest pediatric lung transplant program, the largest team of pediatric epilepsy specialists, the most comprehensive Cerebral Palsy (CP) Center in the country, and the largest selective dorsal rhizotomy surgical program for children with CP in the world.  The hospital’s focus on pain management is illustrated by its operation of an “Ouchless Emergency Unit.”   

Community Outreach
St. Louis Children’s Hospital extends its services to children and families in the community through a variety of programs and educational partnerships, including nutrition and fitness, childhood immunizations, injury prevention, car seat and helmet safety, and smoking prevention and cessation.  The hospital also developed the region’s first pediatric mobile health program and interactive pedestrian safety program.