A new children's mental health hospital is opening in Webster Groves this fall at the KVC Missouri’s Children's Mental Wellness Campus.
The announcement comes on the heels of a report by the National Center for Health Statistics, which found that 35% of children with diagnosed anxiety disorders who visited a mental health center in 2024 were also diagnosed with depression. And almost 19-percent also had ADHD.
Michelle Leone, Senior Vice President of the new hospital, said anxiety, depression and trauma-related disorders are the most prevalent disorders seen in St. Louis youth.
The new hospital will also double as a residential treatment facility for up to 77 children, which Leone called a "step in the right direction." She said current St. Louis' pediatric mental health facilities are only able to serve half of the children living with mental health disorders.
"Really, even with opening a new hospital, there's still such a huge bed need and demand in the area," Leone said. "And so we're hoping to help bridge that gap just a little bit.
She said the demand for these services are increasing both as disorders are more easily diagnosed and as they're becoming more prevalent.
"When we were kids, there was a lot of opportunities to decompress and have time alone and now children don't have that," Leone said. "They're never not on stage and that really is adding to the mental health crisis that we're seeing."
The Mental Wellness Campus opened in Webster Groves in 2024. KMOX previously reported that at the time, some residents expressed opposition to the hospital location, saying it posed a safety risk to nearby residents. Leone said residents haven't expressed any opposition to the current expansion.
Listen to the podcast above to learn more.
It's opening in Webster Groves this fall.
It's opening in Webster Groves this fall.
