WEBSTER GROVES, Mo. – KVC Missouri and St. Louis Children’s Hospital want to build a new behavioral health hospital in Webster Groves surrounded by homes. One of those homes is Jared Cohen’s.

“Being a physician myself and practicing numerous different medical facilities both in St. Louis and around the country, the general theme with a lot of them is that they’re generally not situated in the middle of residential communities and for good reason,” he said.

It’s an area where parents say kids often walk to Givens Elementary, about half a mile away. Plans show the hospital would be 64,000 square-feet and have 77 beds for patients. St. Louis Children’s said it would include an outpatient treatment center and traditional counseling.

“KVC and St. Louis Children’s Hospital are proud to be working together to address this urgent need on behalf of our community. As experts in caring for the behavioral health of pediatric patients, we are uniquely qualified to provide this often lifesaving care and are proud to do so on a beautifully landscaped mental wellness campus that features the latest safety and security technology and state-of-the art health care,” St. Louis Children’s and KVC Missouri said through a statement.

But the property would first need to be rezoned.

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Various operators have run a residential treatment facility for troubled kids here for years. In 2021, the residential facility known as Great Circle shut down shortly after multiple employees were accused of endangering kids who lived there. But the day school on campus is still open and is now run by KVC Missouri.

“It’s not that any one operator is doing a poor job. It’s that this is a difficult thing to manage and all more to the point why it should not be coexisting in a very densely residential neighborhood,” Cohen said.

Earlier this year, a teacher at the day school died in what KVC says was the result of unintentional injuries after a collision between two people.

Last year, Cohen said a student had run away and was caught right in front of his home while his kids were out in the yard.

“That was upsetting to them, asking what happened and just to see that physical restraint right in front of them, it was shocking and disturbing for them as well,” he said.

Overall, Webster Groves Police Department has had 84 calls for service at this location dating back to October 2022.

KVC Health Systems said in a statement sent to FOX 2 News, “Safety is our top priority. We have a long track record of operating children’s mental wellness facilities with safety and security for patients and neighbors.”

In a presentation to the Webster Groves Plan Commission, KVC says there would be added fencing, increased setbacks and improved security measures.

St. Louis Children’s Hospital and KVC Missouri believe this facility is needed. They say that St. Louis and the surrounding areas have fewer than 50% of the behavioral health beds needed to support our children and that suicide is the second leading cause of death for 10- to 14-year-olds.

Cohen says he is fully supportive of this type of treatment.

“I wish that the public discourse wasn’t such that our speaking out against this proposal is a vote against pediatric mental health support; it couldn’t be farther from that. It’s more of a this is not the appropriate community for that,” he said.

He says neighbors will be at the next plan commission meeting. It is scheduled for October 3.

Request for a Changes of Zoning and Conditional Use Permits – Proposed Plan by KevinSeanHeld on Scribd

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