Whether a child is here for a short-term or long-term stay, developing ways to cope with fear, anxiety and separation from family and friends are necessary tools to help navigate the inpatient experience. St. Louis Children’s Hospital makes sure that no family goes through the journey alone.
Families come to us from around the world because they want their child to participate in groundbreaking cancer trials, to meet with clinical teams at the forefront of pediatric organ transplantation, or to undergo a life-changing surgical procedure that was pioneered right here.
To maintain our status as a destination hospital, we must prioritize wraparound services that exceed expectations and provide support for these patients every step of the way.
Navigating a child’s health care journey can be challenging. That’s why more than 7,500 patients a year rely on St. Louis Children’s Center for Families—a safe, welcoming hub that is open 24/7.
For families in need of more personalized support, child life specialists facilitate services to help normalize hospitalization and manage stress during difficult times.
With your help, we will realize our vision of a nursing workforce that represents more children and families in the regions we serve.
We need your partnership to help us recruit, and retain, the brightest minds in medicine as both educators and practitioners.
An XMR suite is a critical requirement for establishing clinical programs that will distinguish St. Louis Children’s regionally – if not nationally and internationally.
With you, we can help ensure children and their families have the best quality of life possible.
Only through your gifts are we able to provide all families with free, healthy meals during their child’s hospital stay.
The Importance of Family-Centered Care
We believe that basic needs, such as food, clean clothes, a shower or a quiet place to rest must be met in order for parents and guardians to become active participants in their child’s care. Donor funding enables St. Louis Children’s Hospital to provide these resources and individualized family support through the following services.
Meet Zoe
When Zoe was 5, she began experiencing heart complications related to her propionic acidemia–an inherited disorder that affects the body’s metabolic system. Her family hoped to find the answer closer to home in Arkansas, but nearby hospitals couldn’t accommodate the heart and liver transplant that Zoe desperately needed. Only St. Louis Children’s could perform both. While they relocated to St. Louis, donor-funded programs like Child Life Services and the Center for Families helped Zoe and her parents make St. Louis Children’s their home away from home.
Two years after receiving the lifesaving transplant, Zoe is back to being a happy, healthy nine-year-old kid.