ST. LOUIS – June 8, 2006 –SSM Health Care today broke ground for its newest hospital, SSM St. Clare Health Center, which will open in early 2009, and displayed the hospital’s design and site plan.

The design for the 154-bed SSM St. Clare, located at Highway 141 and Bowles Avenue near Fenton, revealed a campus centered on convenience and accessibility. The design team focused on patients’ needs and how they will use the hospital, while keeping the needs of physicians, staff and visitors top-of-mind. The result will be a hospital that is human-centered, with an emphasis on comfort and safety.

“Our goal is to redesign the health care experience, from the ground up, for patients, physicians and staff,” said Ronald J. Levy, president and CEO of SSM Health Care-St. Louis. “Without question, this is not going to be your traditional, cut-from-the-same-mold hospital.”

SSM St. Clare will incorporate four “patient experience zones” – Emergency, Outpatient Services, Inpatient Care and Surgical/Specialty Services – each with separate parking and entrances.  The zones will be connected by a central Town Square area that will offer dining and retail services, a business and health information center, and convenient meeting space.  The hospital will also have a chapel and meditation/spiritual areas throughout.

Key features of SSM St. Clare’s design include:

·   Distinct settings for cancer patients, heart care and women’s services organized around the patients’ needs.  Patients will have convenient, one-stop access to all the services they need without having to travel to multiple locations within the hospital.

·   A dedicated outpatient services area that will provide quick access and close-in parking. 

·   Multiple, decentralized nursing alcoves, rather than the traditional centralized nursing station, bring caregivers closer to the patients to improve safety and response.

·   Large, all-private patient suites with an area that includes sleeping accommodations for family members.

·   The latest in information technology to promote quality and patient safety; for example, bar codes on patient’s wristbands that correspond with bar codes on medications, to lessen the risk for errors.

“Patient care is first and foremost about the people we are so privileged to serve as well as the talented people who care for our patients every day,” said Sherry Hausmann, president of SSM St. Joseph Hospital of Kirkwood and future president of SSM St. Clare Health Center. “Our caregivers and physicians provide exceptional health care services and perform acts of kindness to make our patients’ stay more comfortable. It is that kind of personal care that has been the hallmark of SSM St. Joseph Hospital of Kirkwood, and will be the foundation of strength as we bring SSM St. Clare Health Center to life.”

“SSM Health Care has a proud history of serving the community’s health care needs with compassion, and a long-standing commitment to innovation,” said state Senate President Pro Tem Michael Gibbons, R-District 13, who was one of the speakers at the groundbreaking ceremony. “This exciting new facility will make a difference by making quality health care more available for the people of this area.”

The groundbreaking ceremony, which took place at the former Lakewood Golf Course site at Highway 141 and Bowles Avenue, where SSM St. Clare will be constructed, also included remarks from St. Louis County Executive Charlie A. Dooley; Sr. Jacqueline Motzel, president of the Franciscan Sisters of Mary, SSMHC’s sponsor organization; and Sr. Mary Jean Ryan, president and CEO of SSM Health Care. The Most Reverend Raymond Leo Burke, archbishop of St. Louis, offered the blessing of the building site.

SSMHC-St. Louis announced in 2004 that it would replace SSM St. Joseph Hospital of Kirkwood with a new hospital in southwest St. Louis County. The network announced in 2005 that the new hospital would be named SSM St. Clare Health Center after St. Clare of Assisi.

About SSM Health Care

With 8 hospitals, nearly 2,000 staff physicians and 11,000 employees, SSM Health Care-St. Louis is committed to serving the comprehensive health needs of St. Louis area residents.  Sponsored by the Franciscan Sisters of Mary, the health care network includes: SSM Cardinal Glennon Children's Medical Center; SSM DePaul Health Center; SSM St. Joseph Health Center (St. Charles); SSM St. Joseph Health Center-Wentzville; SSM St. Joseph Hospital West (Lake Saint Louis); SSM St. Joseph Hospital of Kirkwood; SSM St. Mary's Health Center and SSM Rehab. The health care network also includes three medical groups: SSM St. Charles Clinic Medical Group, SSM Medical Group and SSM DePaul Medical Group. Its parent organization, SSM Health Care, also based in St. Louis, in 2002 became the first health care recipient of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. The system owns, operates and manages hospitals and nursing homes in four states: Missouri, Illinois, Wisconsin and Oklahoma.

###