South County became home to the second St. Louis Children’s Hospital Specialty Care Center in St. Louis this month. 

The location, at 5114 Midamerica Plaza near Interstate 55 and Butler Hill Road, is an outpatient care center with a plethora of healthcare services provided, including laboratory services, imaging services, therapy, a pharmacy, outpatient clinics and more. 

The hospital is a partnership between BJC Healthcare and Washington University in St. Louis and is the second speciality care center for Children’s Hospital, which opened its first location in Town and Country in 2015. 

Angie Woods, senior manager of patient access, said South County was chosen due to the low amount of children’s healthcare services in the area. 

“South County was chosen because of the lowest population of kids, in Missouri and the Illinois side of the river, … with few pediatric care options available. This was a prime location for that,” Woods said. 

Planning for this new facility began about five years ago, immediately after the location in West County was built. The building is 77,000 square feet and should have between 80 and 120 employees working at any given time.

Woods said the staff is a mixture of transfers and new employees, and the biggest draw is the location for staff and some patients.

“There was a lot of interest … in this location being closer to home for a lot of people,” Woods said. “Specifically on my team I have three individuals that live within a 10-minute radius and they’re super excited about that.”

The facility officially opened at 7 a.m. Tuesday Oct. 19, and the first patient was admitted immediately. 

Woods said she spoke to a family from Cape Girardeau who had to drive to the West County campus for care, who now have a location a little closer to them.

“Tuesday morning it came full circle for me, to see this project going on for the last few years. My question (for the families) that morning was ‘Is this convenient for you?’” Woods said. “It was enlightening to see that it’s something right in the community for our families.”

With the specialty care center’s opening, South Countians now have a couple different options for specialized pediatric care. SSM Health Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital opened its own pediatric healthcare facility in South County in November 2019.