More
than 135 years ago, the Sisters of Mercy founded St. John's Mercy Medical
Center with a commitment to caring for women and children. Today we continue
this mission through our Women's & Children's
Health Center, where we provide compassionate care using advanced technologies,
all within a caring and nurturing environment.
St. John’s
Mercy offers a full range of services to meet the special needs of women
throughout their lifespan. Select
from the links below to learn more about our women's health quality initiatives:
Breast Center
In the U.S., one woman in eight will develop breast cancer in her lifetime.
Quality breast care saves lives. St.
John’s Mercy
is committed to helping women receive comprehensive, quality
breast care services. Our commitment is evident by our investment in high-tech
mammography equipment, in staffing the St. John's Mercy Breast Center with
dedicated, caring breast care professionals, and
in our ongoing efforts to encourage women to get annual mammograms and to recognize
the early warning signs of breast cancer.
St.
John's Mercy Breast Center Quality Facts:
- The St. John's Mercy
Breast Center has on-site physicians who specialize in screening, diagnosing
and treating breast diseases and conditions. Our radiologists work together
with our staff to make important diagnostic and treatment decisions.
- St. John's
Mercy provides a wide range of breast care services, from screening and diagnostic
mammograms to state-of-the-art cancer treatments and support groups. St.
John’s
Mercy Breast Center offers four screening locations
and a mobile screening service. We screen an average of 2,700 women
a month.
- St. John's Mercy offers
minimally invasive breast biopsies (ultrasound guided and accredited stereotactic
guided biopsies).
- Surgical intervention, sentinel lymph node mapping, axillary node dissection,
hormone therapy, chemotherapy, radiation therapy and reconstructive surgery
are all treatment options available to patients diagnosed with breast cancer.
- St. John's offers
many breast cancer clinical trials through the David C. Pratt Cancer Center
Pharmaceutical Trials and through our membership in the St. Louis-Cape
Girardeau Community Clinical Oncology Research Program (CCOP),a
consortium of six institutions in Missouri and Illinois.
- Patients with
abnormal mammograms or breast ultrasounds have access to a new resource
at St. John's Mercy called the breast health navigator program. These
patients are assigned a “nurse navigator” to
educate and support them throughout their breast care. This nurse helps
the patient to navigate the next steps in their care, such as diagnostic
and treatment options, referrals to surgeons and oncology specialists,
insurance issues, timeframes for test results, education and emotional
support.
- St. John's Mercy
technologists are specially trained and certified in mammography and are
licensed by the American Registry of Radiologic Technologists (ARRT).
- The St. John's Mercy
Breast Center is dedicated to the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of
breast disease in women. Our staff can educate you on effective breast
care and prevention as well as provide you with resources on support groups,
breast health information and more.
- The St. John's Mercy
Breast Center is an American College of Radiology (ACR) accredited facility.
Labor and Delivery
Because bringing a new life into the world is so special, you should have confidence
in the hospital and staff who provide care when your baby is born. Our Labor & Birth
Center at St. John’s Mercy is known in the community for providing
women with exceptional care during the birth of their babies. In our fiscal year ending June 30, 2007, 8,227 babies were born
at St. John's Mercy.
Our Women's and Children's
Health Center staff members have the experience and expertise to care for
you and your baby - even if specialized care and equipment is required. The
Perinatal Center at St. John's Mercy uses advanced technology and personalized
care to help achieve the best possible outcome for mom and her baby. Maternal-fetal
medicine specialists, registered nurses and certified ultrasonographers use
sophisticated diagnostic equipment and therapeutic techniques to treat women
with high risk pregnancies.
The Women’s
Evaluation Unit (WEU) provides care for women experiencing complications
with their pregnancy. Women are referred to the WEU by their physician
for evaluation and treatment. A Certified Nurse Midwife (CNM) completes
a history and physical exam, including an ultrasound if needed. The physician
and CNM consult with each other to determine the plan of care.
The Women’s & Children’s
Education Department offers classes and programs to help expectant women
and their families prepare for childbirth and parenthood. The classes include
infant and child care for adoption, childbirth center tours, prenatal exercise,
Lamaze childbirth preparation, infant care, CPR for Family and Friends, and
special classes for new fathers, siblings and grandparents.
As partners in
your baby’s
birth, we are committed to meeting your needs through personal care and attention.
We share the joy of your new baby, believing that each birth is unique -
and that every baby is a miracle.
Family Focus Care (Post
Partum and Newborn Nursery) 
At St. John’s Mercy Medical Center, family-centered, compassionate care
and advanced technology are combined to provide each family and new baby with
the best possible care. Each year more than 7,200 moms and 7,400 infants are
cared for at St. John’s Mercy. Our advisory board helps to direct service
development and identify issues and is made up of both parents and staff members.
Our recently renovated
Women’s and Children’s Center
features 66 private postpartum rooms with conveniences such as DVD/VCR/TV
units, individual heat and air controls, hair dryers in the bathroom and
accommodations for your family. Our private rooms also feature hotel-style
room service so that you can enjoy a delicious meal to order. Snack and kitchenette
areas are available for family members.
At St. John’s Mercy
Women's and Children's Health Center, we have the staff and facilities to
care for you and your baby in any medical situation. The Newborn Nursery
has a team of specialized nurses to provide attentive, personalized care.
The Nursery has a capacity of 80 bassinettes. St. John’s
Mercy also has the only Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) in St.
Louis County, where our experienced neonatologists, neonatal nurse practitioners and
staff nurses are available 24 hours a day to give premature or critically
ill babies immediate special care.
Our large staff
includes more than 20 maternal newborn nurses certified by The National
Certification Corporation (NCC), a not-for-profit organization that provides
a national credentialing program for nurses, physicians and other licensed
health care personnel.
St. John’s
Mercy uses the Neonatal Infant Pain Scale (NIPS) to assess pain. This scale
focuses on pain as a vital sign and allows for appropriate interventions
to address the level of pain or discomfort. By assigning a number value to
specific characteristics noted by the nurse, it allows him or her to seek
appropriate treatment.
Patient safety
is a priority at St. John’s Mercy. An electronic security system
provides additional security to each infant on the unit. The infant security
system identifies specific instances to guard against potential security
breeches. Bracelet numbers and identifying information are verified with
the mother any time the baby is removed from or brought back to her room.
Patients are also instructed that staff members who are authorized to take
the baby from their room will have a special logo incorporated on their badges.
Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU)
St. John's Mercy has St.
Louis County's only Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) for high-risk
newborns, which is staffed by board-certified neonatologists and certified
neonatal nurse practitioners 24 hours a day. Patients with critical
needs are admitted to our 75-bed NICU unit from throughout the bi-state area.
From July 2005 through June 2006 (fiscal year), more than 1,600 babies were
cared for in our NICU. St. John's Mercy also has a special team consisting
of a neonatal registered nurse and neonatal respiratory therapist who transport
babies needing an increased level of care from outlying facilities.
Currently, the NICU cares
for an average of 67 infants each day. The average length
of stay for all babies is 18 days. Babies who are born weighing less than
1500 grams stay an average of 91 days in the NICU.
The St. John's Mercy NICU
is an active participant in the Vermont
Oxford Network (VON), a group of more than 450 national and international
NICUs who benchmark outcomes. According to VON, St. John's Mercy NICU
was ranked in the best quartile in 2004 for our low number of Intraventricular
Hemorrhage (IVH - head bleeds) which is a common complication of prematurity.
St. John's Mercy is also participating with VON in a collaborative effort
to improve neonatal nutrition.
A multidisciplinary team is exploring a new NICU care design to allow expansion
to 100 beds in the future. Site visits have been completed at several other
hospitals to examine similar designs.
