Viewfinder: Mercy Children's Hospital Dedicated in Creve Coeur

Ribbons fall; balloons rise.

That's why there was not a ribbon to be found, but plenty of ballooons to mark the dedication of the St. Louis area's newest children's hospital, Mercy Children's Hospital on the campus in Creve Coeur.

The Thursday morning ceremony celebrated the latest expansion for St. John's Mercy, already the largest hospital in St. Louis County. When St. John's moved to Creve Coeur from the Central West End in 1963, it did so in a time of tragedy, punctuated by danger.  It was just days after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. The St. Louis area was crippled by a winter ice storm and roads were impassable on moving day. None of those perils presented themselves at this dedication ceremony, although the event did have to be postponed 3 weeks because of a similar winter storm that had St. Louis socked-in the first week of February. In the audience, two rows of chairs were reserved for the original Sisters of Mercy who took part in that harrowing moving day nearly 50 years ago. They're called "pioneers" and their numbers have dwindled to a precious few, but those on-hand nodded knowingly as Mike McCurry, President & C.E.O. of  St. John's Mercy Health Care, recalled that treacherous day in 1963. "They had to carry the babies in their arms to move in, the ice was so bad on Ballas Road," McCurry explained. It's that level of dedication to children that the new generation of St. John's administrators promises will continue to be delivered each day at the new Mercy Children's Hospital, a facility that looks every part state-of-the art, down to its last detail. "It's not the beautiful building. It's the women and men who serve here who truly make this a house of mercy," says Sr. Mary Roch Rocklage, one of today's Sisters of Mercy.

Even so, there was no mistaking the detail that went into planning the physical structure. It is the capstone of a 10 year master expansion plan for the Creve Coeur campus. Back when the plan was conceived, more than a decade ago, the state of children's health care was very different, compared to today. Back then, the existing model was still dominated by freestanding children's hospitals, similar to the nationally-renowned Cardinal Glennon Children's Medical Center in St. Louis City.  Gradually, however, more medical centers like St. John's made plans to move to a "hospital within a hospital" concept, geared exclusively for children. The new Mercy Children's Hospital within St. John's Mercy Medical Center is an example of a facility that brings together, in one location, private pediatric patient rooms, neonatal intensive care pods, a pediatric intensive care unit and a tests & treatments area. No more having to transport children across the 80 acre hospital campus to receive treatment; everything is within easy reach at the new children's hospital.

As part of the dedication ceremony, visitors were encouraged to take part in the open house tours. Small groups filed in and out of areas that will soon be packed with patients, doctors and families. Immediately the visitor is greeted by a sense of calm, especially in the intensive care units. Whereas most hospital ICUs are characterized by bright lights, noise and commotion, the pediatric and neonatal ICU's at Mercy Children's are notably devoid of all those distractions. The muted colors, dim lights and library-like quiet is purposely designed to lower the anxiety level of children being treated in the new hospital.  With 98 private neonatal intensive care beds and 56 private pediatric rooms, Mercy Children's Hospital is already one of the largest such facilities in the state of Missouri.

14-year-old Madison Donaghue has been receiving care at St. John's for several months; long enough to have taken part in the transition from the old children's floors in the main hospital, to this new self-contained children's hospital. "Maddie," as she prefers to be called, came to St. John's with ulcerative colitis. That serious condition and her subsequent colectomy made her very familiar with life in a hospital. "I was the first patient to stay in room 3111. It was a big, private room with a big couch that folded out into a bed for my mother to sleep on and stay with me," she says. "Before that I had a room that was very small.  Very few people could come visit me and my mother had to sleep in a chair." Such seemingly small details may pale in comparison to medical procedures, but they make a huge difference to patients and families living in fear and discomfort during uncertain times. The "Ronald McDonald Family Room" is another example of comfort contributing to healing; similar in amenities to the "Ronald McDonald House," but on a smaller scale, the family room allows access to all families using the new "Mercy Children's Hospital." The room is in the heart of the children's hospital and features a full kitchen, shower and dressing areas, as well as a TV den, couches to nap on and a concierge to tend to client needs. Directly across the hall is a room that is now a requirement to be considered a true "children's hospital"--a playroom! The so-called "Child Life Play Area" is a suite of rooms, filled with most every toy and game imaginable. Again, the objective is to reduce a child's anxiety level and make the hospital stay a less-frightening experience. "You can always find something to be happy about, even when you don't feel good," said Maddie Donaghue.  She speaks from experience as one of Mercy Children's Hospital's first success stories.