The community’s perspective on health care in St. Louis City

A Crisis of Care

A report developed by the Saint Louis University School of Public Health and funded by the Episcopal-Presbyterian Charitable Health and Medical Trust March 2003

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This report is the final product of a twoyear project developed and funded by the Episcopal-Presbyterian Charitable Health and Medical Trust. We wish to thank Bishop Hayes Rockwell and the Trust Board, especially Dr. Katherine Jahnige, for their inspiration and support. We also would like to recognize the partnership of the Trust with the St. Louis Community Foundation, led by David Luckes and Linda Aitch, for its contributions to this project. Finally, our thanks go to Dr. James Kimmey, for his insight as to the need for focus group information.

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[Introduction]

“ We made a home visit on a family in north St. Louis…because they had missed preventive care. And when the home health worker went into the home, she found the mother was there with many children. The mother was suffering from postpartum depression. The baby was on a [respirator] and the house was rat infested. They had no electricity for the baby, so they were stealing electricity from the neighbor to be able to support the baby’s life support. Obviously they were in health crisis in more than one [way]…but she didn’t know where to begin. There were so many layers to peel away from this family that to get to their health care…and they definitely had health care needs.”

The health care industry in this nation is well known for its benefits but also its problems. While this is also true locally, St. Louis City has often been nationally recognized when it comes to health care resources. The City is home to two medical schools and several nationally recognized hospitals. The City also provides care to residents through 20 different