FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 9, 2008

St. John’s Mercy Children’s Hospital Moves First Patients to Newly-Renovated Private Rooms

The first patients moved into the newly renovated private rooms at St. John’s Mercy Children’s Hospital on Monday, June 9. The new 17-bed area, the first phase of the St. John’s Mercy Children’s Hospital renovation, has a nature theme with vibrant colors and family areas in each room for parents to stay comfortably with their children.

Expansion of St. John’s Mercy Children’s Hospital will occur in three phases. The improvements will result in new surgical facilities for children, a larger neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), a 16-bed pediatric intensive care unit, and a general pediatric unit of 56 private rooms.

When renovations are completed in July 2010, St. John’s Mercy will have 100 private rooms in its Level 3 (highest level) NICU and 72 private rooms for children who require hospitalization, including an expanded pediatric intensive care unit.

St. John’s Mercy Children’s Hospital is a “hospital-within-a-hospital” at St. John’s Mercy Medical Center. St. John’s Mercy meets the criteria set by the National Association of Children’s Hospitals and Related Institutions (NACHRI), based in Alexandria, Virginia. NACHRI is an organization of children's hospitals with more than 200 members, 110 of which are “children’s-hospitals-within-hospitals”. NACHRI promotes the health and well-being of all children and their families through support of children's hospitals and health systems that are committed to excellence in providing health care to children.

St. John’s Mercy Medical Center is a member of St. John’s Mercy Health Care which also operates St. John’s Mercy Hospital in Washington, Mo., St. John’s Mercy Medical Group and St. John’s Mercy Health Services.

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