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‘Dial 10’ to take effect April 15 on Medical Campus

Phone system changes at Medical Campus and BJC HealthCare facilities will require 10-digit dialing from landlines

March 10, 2016

Robert Boston

Beginning April 15, changes to the telephone system used on the Medical Campus and at several BJC HealthCare facilities will require landline users to “Dial 10” when placing calls to internal and external numbers. People at School of Medicine and BJC facilities will need to use the area code when dialing phone numbers.

Beginning April 15, changes to the telephone system used on the Washington University Medical Center campus and at several BJC HealthCare facilities will require landline users to “Dial 10” when placing calls to internal and external numbers.

The transition to the new system will require that all or many of the affected phone lines be out of service from 11 p.m. April 14 through 3 a.m. April 15.

“Dial 10” is an abbreviated way of communicating to people at all School of Medicine and BJC facilities that, with the new changes, they will need to use the area code when dialing phone numbers, even in-house numbers. For example, to reach 2-1234 at Barnes-Jewish Hospital, a caller using a landline at any of the affected locations will need to dial 314-362-1234 as of April 15.

The change will eliminate the need to dial a “9” for external calls and will phase out internal five-digit dialing within and between facilities.

The changes will not affect outside callers trying to reach any of the affected facilities.

The new system also means changes in how the Medical Campus emergency number will be dialed from Medical Campus landlines. The general number for the School of Medicine’s Protective Services will remain the same: 314-362-4357. The biggest change is that callers no longer will be able to reach Protective Services by dialing 2-HELP (2-4357).

In the event of an emergency, callers also may dial 314-362-0911 to reach the BJH Public Safety Department, which will route the call to the appropriate responder. If callers dial “911,” such calls will go directly to a St. Louis city emergency dispatcher.

The only change affecting the university’s Danforth Campus is in using the 362- and 747- exchanges to dial the Medical Campus. Currently, Danforth callers only have to dial five digits when using numbers with the 362- and 747- exchanges. When the changeover occurs on the Medical Campus, Danforth callers will use eight digits to reach such numbers (9-362-xxxx or 9-747-xxxx).

With the “Dial 10” system, one consistent dialing process will be in effect for all School of Medicine and BJC facilities.

The Medical Campus and BJC are moving to “Dial 10” to meet the rapidly increasing demand for new phone, fax and other telecommunication numbers. The change also will help Medical Campus and BJC facilities accommodate the addition of one or more regional area codes, anticipated within the next five years.

Changes on the Medical Campus originally were scheduled to occur in November, but the date was moved to April 15.

Alton Memorial Hospital, Barnes-Jewish St. Peters Hospital, Progress West Hospital and a few BJC Behavioral Health, BJC Home Care Services and BJC Medical Group offices made the switch in November.

Here is a list of facilities where landline users will need to “Dial 10” beginning April 15. These locations will transition to the new system beginning at 11 p.m. April 14. To allow adequate time for testing, the system is scheduled to be out of service until 3 a.m. April 15:

• Washington University School of Medicine — all buildings
• Barnes-Jewish Hospital campus – all buildings
• Barnes-Jewish West County Hospital campus
• St. Louis Children’s Hospital
• BJC @ The Commons
• BJC – The Highlands
• BJC Learning Institute
• BJC – Meridian
• Siteman Cancer Center
• Siteman South County
• BJH/WUSM Orthopedic Center
• Goldfarb School of Nursing
• St. Louis Children’s Specialty Care Center
• Washington University, BJC Medical Group and private physician offices on the above campuses that receive telephone service through Telecommunication Facilities Corp.

For more information, check the “Dial 10” web page. If you have questions, you may send them to Dial_Plan_Project@bjc.org.