SSM Health Care
Encyclopedia
SSM Health Care is a Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
, not-for-profit health care system
Health care system
A health care system is the organization of people, institutions, and resources to deliver health care services to meet the health needs of target populations....
with an international reputation as a pioneer in the use of quality measures to improve care. With 5,400 physicians and 22,000 employees (6,600 of them nurses) in four states, SSM is one of the largest employers in every community it serves. It is located in Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...
, Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
and Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
. In every region, SSM facilities forge creative relationships in the community to foster healthier people and healthier neighborhoods. Through these relationships and at its various sites, SSM serves more than 2 million people annually.
An early adopter of the electronic health record, SSM provides care in a range of convenient settings, including hospitals, a pediatric medical center, outpatient centers, rural and inner city clinics, surgery centers, nursing homes, assisted living facilities, physician offices, an emergency center, rehabilitation facilities, home care, and hospice.
SSM Health Care owns 15 hospitals, has a minority interest in five hospitals, manages one hospital, has affiliations with 16 rural hospitals, owns two nursing homes, and has a variety of partnerships with physicians, including Dean Health Plan in Wisconsin.
It is sponsored by the Franciscan Sisters of Mary
Franciscan Sisters of Mary
The Franciscan Sisters of Mary is a Roman Catholic religious congregation for women based in St. Louis, Missouri that founded hospitals throughout the Midwest....
and based in St. Louis, Missouri. It is one of the largest Catholic systems in the country.
History of SSM Health Care
SSM Health Care traces its roots to 1872, when Mother Mary Odilia BergerMary Odilia Berger
Mother Mary Odilia Berger founded the Sisters of St. Mary which became the Franciscan Sisters of Mary which established hospitals throughout the Midwest.Her baptismal name was Anna Katherine Berger...
and four other sisters came to St. Louis from Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, after caring for sick and wounded soldiers during the Franco-Prussian War
Franco-Prussian War
The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the 1870 War was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia. Prussia was aided by the North German Confederation, of which it was a member, and the South German states of Baden, Württemberg and...
. Facing religious persecution in Germany, they came to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. When they arrived in St. Louis they began providing nursing
Nursing
Nursing is a healthcare profession focused on the care of individuals, families, and communities so they may attain, maintain, or recover optimal health and quality of life from conception to death....
care to people in their own homes. That winter, when a smallpox epidemic hit St. Louis, the sisters cared for the sick and dying. For a short time, people referred to them as the Smallpox Sisters. In 1874, the congregation received its formal name: the Sisters of St. Mary
Sisters of St. Mary
The Sisters of St. Mary was a former Roman Catholic religious congregation for women based in St. Louis, Missouri that founded hospitals throughout the Midwest...
(SSM).
Most of the health care
Health care
Health care is the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disease, illness, injury, and other physical and mental impairments in humans. Health care is delivered by practitioners in medicine, chiropractic, dentistry, nursing, pharmacy, allied health, and other care providers...
facilities that today belong to SSM Health Care were previously part of a group of hospitals owned by the Sisters of St. Mary and centrally governed, but not centrally managed. In the mid-1980s, the sponsoring congregation decided to reorganize its hospitals into a system of centrally managed health care providers, and SSM Health Care was created in 1986. Today the system is managed by a team of professionals—both lay and religious—and governed by members of the sponsoring congregation as well as by laypersons from the communities served by its facilities.
About SSM Health Care
Headquarters- St. Louis, Missouri
Locations
- Missouri
- Wisconsin
- Illinois
- Oklahoma
Employees
- 22,000
Physicians
- More than 5,000
Mission Statement
- Through our exceptional health care services, we reveal the healing presence of God.
Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award
In 2002, SSM Health Care became the first health care organization in history to receive the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality AwardMalcolm Baldrige National Quality Award
The Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award recognizes U.S. organizations in the business, health care, education, and nonprofit sectors for performance excellence. The Baldrige Award is the only formal recognition of the performance excellence of both public and private U.S. organizations given by...
, the nation's highest award for quality.
Missouri
- SSM Cardinal Glennon Children's Health CenterCardinal Glennon Children's Hospital-Overview:Cardinal Glennon Children’s Medical Center is a not-for-profit 190-bed inpatient and outpatient pediatric medical center. As the nation’s only free-standing, Catholic children’s hospital, Cardinal Glennon has provided care for children regardless of ability to pay since 1956...
(St. Louis) - SSM St. Clare Health Center (Fenton)
- SSM DePaul Health Center (Bridgeton)
- SSM St. Mary's Health Center (Richmond Heights)
- SSM St. Joseph Health Center (St. Charles)
- SSM St. Joseph Health Center (Wentzville)
- SSM St. Joseph Hospital West (Lake Saint Louis)
- St. Francis Hospital and Health Services (Maryville)
- St. Mary's Health Center (Jefferson City)
Wisconsin
- St. Clare Hospital and Health Services (Baraboo)
- St. Mary's Hospital (Madison, Wisconsin)
- St. Clare Meadows Care Center (Baraboo)
- St. Mary's Care Center (Madison)
- New Janesville hospital coming in late 2011
Illinois
- St. Mary's Good Samaritan, Inc. (Good Samaritan Regional Health Center in Mount Vernon and St. Mary's Hospital in Centralia)