Plans in motion for a children’s psychiatric hospital in Webster Groves

St. Louis Children’s Hospital and mental health treatment nonprofit KVC Missouri are joining forces to build a 70-bed residential center for children with mental health disorders. The new health center will be constructed over the next two years on KVC Missouri’s Webster Groves campus to address the growing number of children seeking treatment for anxiety, depression, and other mental health issues.

Officials from both organizations emphasized the need for such a facility in the St. Louis area and across Missouri, citing the significant demand for mental health services. Lindsey Stephenson, President of KVC Missouri, noted that the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in an increase in the number of children requiring mental health support. However, families often struggle to find appropriate residential or inpatient care for their pediatric patients.

The new campus will feature the residential hospital as well as a repurposed building for outpatient treatment services. KVC’s Webster Groves location, near Rock Hill Road, currently offers adoption and foster care services, treatment for children with autism, and other mental health and family-oriented services. This expansion represents a formal partnership between KVC and BJC Health, the health system that owns St. Louis Children’s Hospital.

Angela Martin-Davis, President of Behavioral Health at BJC, highlighted the collaboration between doctors and health workers from Washington University Medical School, BJC, Children’s Hospital, and KVC staff at the new campus. The additional mental health beds at the new hospital will supplement the 14 beds currently available at Children’s Hospital to meet the increasing demand for pediatric mental health care.

Martin-Davis stressed the critical need for more inpatient behavioral health treatment options, as emergency departments are seeing more children with severe mental health issues without adequate resources. She acknowledged that the shortage of services has resulted in delays in admission, lengthy wait times, and long travel distances for children and families in need of care.