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Being with your loved ones while they are in the hospital is important to their healing and overall wellbeing, and we are happy to welcome you to Missouri Baptist Medical Center.

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Todd Stewart, MD, is no stranger to critically ill patients and life-saving procedures. As a spinal neurosurgeon and chief of neurosurgery at Missouri Baptist Medical Center, it’s all in a day’s work. But it came as a shock when he suffered a life-threatening heart attack last year.

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Sarah & Andrew Navigate the NICU After Birth of Twin Boys

Sarah and Andrew Sapperstein were looking forward to being parents and were overjoyed and shocked to discover that they were having twins. As the months passed, Sarah's pregnancy was going smoothly, and they planned to welcome their babies by cesarean section (C-section) at 38 weeks.

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Kristina Finds Advice & Encouragement at MoBap’s Support Groups

At the top of Kristina Skinner’s to-do list when she was pregnant with her first baby was to learn about breastfeeding. In preparation for her new arrival, Kristina attended Missouri Baptist Medical Center’s breastfeeding class, where she learned the basics of breastfeeding and received information about pumping.Then as her due date approached, Kristina and her husband, Nathan, finished the nursery and eagerly awaited the arrival of their first child. “I felt prepared for delivery, breastfeeding and becoming a mom.”

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Displaying a new passion
Jenna Chierek
/ Categories: Volunteer

Displaying a new passion

When Melanie Litz first started accompanying her son on walks around Missouri Baptist Medical Center more than a decade ago, the Ballas Boutique was just a place to turn around.

Her son was recovering from an appendectomy and needed to stretch his legs. The gift shop seemed like a good halfway point. Looking back now, maybe that route wasn’t so random.

Melanie is quick to admit she’s not one to walk by an inviting store without entering.

“I love a shop of any kind!” Melanie, 66, said with a laugh.

Fortunately, Melanie’s son soon healed and headed home.

And fortunately for Melanie and the Ballas Boutique, Melanie walked into a new passion. The retired teacher and mother of three realized she didn’t just love to shop. She found out she can really help a shop.

From staging eye-catching store displays that lift visitors’ spirits to guiding uncertain shoppers toward the perfect purchases for their loved ones, Melanie’s touch has helped shape the store’s aesthetic for more than 10 years.

“I love it,” she said. “I really missed my calling. I wish I would have done it when I came out of college. I love the people I work with. It’s a great situation. And people enjoy what I do, and that makes me feel really good.”

Melanie especially enjoys when hospital employees stop in for some quick retail therapy. One, she can relate. And two, it means the Ballas Boutique is still selling the same positive energy that first pulled her inside.

“It’s a little respite,” she said. “Everybody is kind of in a happier space when they are in there.”

If you have questions about volunteering at the Ballas Boutique, please contact store manager Laurie Childers by phone 314-996-5144 or email. If you are interested in volunteering at the Ballas Boutique, please start by completing a volunteer application here.

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