News

ST. LOUIS (September 18, 2025) – Plaza West Tower, the new 16-story patient care tower at Barnes-Jewish Hospital, will welcome patients beginning in October. The tower will provide private rooms for heart and vascular patients, advanced imaging, and the latest in surgical preparation and recovery. Plaza West Tower is designed to enhance the experience for patients and their families under the expert care of WashU Medicine physicians and BJC HealthCare clinical teams.

An epidemic of chronic diseases continues to grow in the United States; half the population — an estimated 129 million Americans — have lifelong health conditions that need continuous medical attention and limit certain daily activities.

Think of the word “infertility,” and you might picture a couple without children struggling to get pregnant or stay pregnant. But there is another set of people — those who have successfully conceived and given birth to one or more children — who struggle with infertility, too. Called secondary infertility, the condition often carries an extra burden: Those affected by it might feel guilty over wanting another child; those close to them may be unsympathetic because they are already a parent; or frustrated because getting pregnant the first (or second) time was relatively easy.

In a surgical suite at Barnes-Jewish Hospital, a robotic arm snakes an ultra-thin, ultra-flexible tube through a patient’s airway. Once the tube reaches the lungs, the surgeon operating the device remotely uses a tiny camera to search the area for an abnormal growth, or nodule, that might be cancerous. Once located, a needle pierces the nodule for biopsy.