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The St. Louis Community Credit Union is partnering with BJC, SSM Health and the James S. McDonnell Foundation to bring nearly $15 million in business loans to underserved communities in St. Louis.

BJC’s Memorial Hospital planned to close the Belleville Health & Sports Center in late 2019. Five years after community members took the gym nonprofit, membership has grown 40%.

The need for inpatient mental health care for pediatric patients has grown in recent years. Health officials say a proposed facility in Webster Groves could provide much-needed treatment. But some nearby neighbors don’t like the plan.

St. Louis Children’s Hospital ad KVC Missouri officials say the 70-bed pediatric mental health hospital will address growing mental health needs in kids.

The chief community health officer at SSM Health hopes that a joint effort of local hospital systems will result in improved health outcomes in St. Louis.

The Healthcare Protection Act passed the Illinois House last week. Now, it's headed to the Senate. Gov. J.B. Pritzker and state lawmakers say the legislation will put power in the hands of patients and their doctors.

BJC Healthcare has formally closed the deal that merges the St. Louis-based company with Saint Luke's Health System in Kansas City, officials announced Monday. The $10 billion merger creates a system that comprises 28 hospitals across Kansas, Illinois and Missouri.

While the coronavirus is circulating less widely than in previous years, an uptick in hospital admissions of COVID-19 patients and a number of employees getting sick with the virus, flu and other illnesses led BJC to put the mask requirement in place, system officials said.

BJC Healthcare has finalized plans to merge with St. Luke's, a Kansas City-based health system that operates 14 hospitals in Kansas and Missouri. The two systems expect to complete the $10 billion deal by Jan. 1.

The program provides $12,500 in forgivable home loans to any benefits-eligible employee.