BJC HealthCare

BJC HealthCare is a non-profit health care organization based in St. Louis, Missouri. It is the St. Louis area's—and one of Missouri's—biggest employers. BJC includes two nationally recognized academic hospitals - Barnes-Jewish Hospital and St. Louis Children's Hospital, which are both affiliated with the Washington University School of Medicine.

BJC HealthCare was created in 1993 when Barnes-Jewish Inc. merged with Christian Health Services to create a system consisting of a large urban teaching facility and a network of suburban community hospitals. In 1994 Missouri Baptist Medical Center and St. Louis Children's Hospital also joined BJC HealthCare.

In addition to operating 12 hospitals in Missouri and Illinois, BJC HealthCare operates BJC Home Care Services, the oldest home care service west of the Mississippi, which offers hospice, home infusion and medical equipment services; BJC Corporate Health Services, including BarnesCare, an occupational health organization; BJC Behavioral Health, offering behavioral health services to children and adults in the St. Louis metropolitan area and in the Missouri counties of Washington, Iron and St. Francois; and BJC Medical Group, which employs more than 300 primary and specialty physicians, nurse practitioners and physician assistants.

BJC HealthCare facilities consistently rank among the top health care institutions in the country. Flagship hospitals are Barnes-Jewish Hospital and St. Louis Children's Hospital, affiliated with Washington University School of Medicine.

Barnes-Jewish Hospital is the largest hospital in Missouri with 1,228 beds and is known as the flagship of BJC HealthCare. It is the adult teaching hospital for Washington University School of Medicine and is one of three Level I trauma centers in St. Louis.

Barnes-Jewish was formed by the 1996 merger of two hospitals, Barnes Hospital and The Jewish Hospital of St. Louis, which were built in proximity to each other on the eastern edge of Forest Park. Barnes Hospital opened on December 7, 1914 at its current location on Kingshighway Boulevard. Jewish Hospital was created in 1902 on a different site on Delmar Boulevard by the leaders of the St. Louis Jewish community. It moved to its current location two blocks away from Barnes Hospital in 1927.

The current facility houses the Charles F. Knight Emergency and Trauma Center, which is a 52,000-square-foot, 61-bed Level I trauma center that includes two full-body CT scanners and six trauma/critical care rooms. A helipad with private elevator access is also located on the roof.