Mercy Hospital South (formerly St. Anthony's Medical Center until October 1, 2018) is the third-largest medical center in Greater St. Louis and an affiliate of Mercy. It is the only designated Level II Trauma Center in either South St. Louis County or Jefferson County. The hospital is located in the unincorporated community, Sappington, Missouri just south of I-270 along Tesson Ferry Road (Missouri Route 21). It serves families in St. Louis County, St. Louis City, and Jefferson County, as well as Franklin County, St. Francois County, Ste. Genevieve County, and Washington County in Missouri, along with Monroe, Randolph and St. Clair counties in Illinois. In addition, Mercy Hospital South operates four urgent care facilities located in Arnold, Fenton, Kirkwood, and Lemay. Mercy Hospital South has 767 licensed beds and is staffed by approximately 3,700 employees, 790 physicians and provides care to approximately 200,000 patients each year. History In 1900, the Franciscan Sisters, Daughters of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, based in Wheaton, Illinois, opened St. Anthony's Hospital at Grand and Chippewa in south St. Louis City. The facility was named after Anthony of Padua, an early disciple of Francis of Assisi, who patterned his life and healing ministry after the example set by Jesus Christ. Following St. Louis' first polio epidemic in 1946, St. Anthony's Hospital became designated by the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis (NFIP) as its Midwest Center for polio treatment. In 1947, convalescent children who had survived polio under the auspices of the NFIP—later known as the March of Dimes—and its city and county chapters were brought to this hospital. It became one of the country's largest polio rehabilitation centers, treating more than 100 polio patients per day. In 1954, the incidence of new cases of polio tapered off and the hospital began offering twice-yearly Salk polio vaccine clinics. In 1967, the Franciscan Sisters transferred ownership and control of the hospital to a board of community leaders, making St. Anthony's the first Catholic hospital in the St. Louis area to be administered by a lay board. In 1975, St. Anthony's Medical Center opened at its present location at 10010 Kennerly Road. In 2017, St. Anthony's became affiliated with Mercy, which operates Mercy Hospital St. Louis. St. Anthony's officially changed names to Mercy Hospital South on October 1, 2018 to match the Mercy branding. Russell and Fern de Greeff Hospice House The Russell and Fern de