May is asthma and allergy awareness month. Asthma is a chronic lifelong disease affecting the lungs. Asthma cannot be cured, but asthma sufferers can take steps to manage their asthma with Five Tips from The Clinical Research Center at Barnes-Jewish West County Hospital.

Barnes-Jewish West County Hospital celebrated the “topping out” of structural steel on the 260,000 square foot replacement hospital and the adjoining 100,000 square foot medical office building March 1.

On March 11, we will “spring forward” and gain an hour of light, but lose an hour of sleep.

Let’s start by saying that Randy Lierman has always been an athlete. Maybe not a professional athlete, but when he was young he participated in nearly every sport available to him, including baseball and basketball, and he played four years of varsity football at the University of Missouri, Kirksville (now Truman State University), eventually becoming Captain of the team.

The physical therapists at the Sports Therapy and Rehabilitation Center (STAR) in south county provide a variety of specialized and personalized physical therapy treatments for patients of all ages.

When Barnes-Jewish West County Hospital looked for someone to design the hospital’s annual holiday card, they turned to Sarah Colby, coordinator of the Barnes-Jewish Foundation’s Arts + Healthcare program. Colby suggested they ask a BJWCH patient — a very special patient — Yvonne Sledge.

Barnes-Jewish West County Hospital medical imaging technologist Meaghan Frank is grateful for care from her BJC HealthCare family. Two days after giving birth at Missouri Baptist Medical Center, her infant son Blaine had a seizure and was transferred to St. Louis Children's Hospital. Tests showed Blaine had suffered a stroke. Frank's mission is to raise awareness of pediatric stroke. “I had no idea newborns could have strokes, and most people I’ve talked to didn’t know either,” she says. “I really want to educate people.”

Herman Celestine, Barnes-Jewish West County Hospital employee for 20 years, is the only MSK-registered sonographer in Missouri who isn’t a physician. Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) are conditions that can affect muscles, bones and joints. MSK ultrasound is rapidly evolving as a non-invasive tool in diagnosis and assessment for managing joint and soft tissue disorders.

Barnes-Jewish West County Hospital’s bariatric (weight-loss) surgical program has been recognized with national designation as a Comprehensive Center under the Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Accreditation and Quality Improvement Program.

The Lung Cancer Screening Program at Siteman Cancer Center at Barnes-Jewish West County Hospital is making access to care and treatment more seamless and effective for those patients most at risk for developing lung cancer.