St. Louis (April 4, 2005) — SSM Health Care-St. Louis today received approval from the State of Missouri to replace SSM St. Joseph Hospital of Kirkwood with a $215 million health care campus at Highway 141 and Bowles Ave. in southwest St. Louis County.

The state-appointed Missouri Health Facilities Review Committee voted 7-0 to approve SSM Health Care’s application. Missouri requires the committee’s review and approval of all new hospital projects.

“We are grateful to the committee for its support of this exciting project,” said Ron Levy, president and CEO of SSM Health Care-St. Louis. “Our focus now will be to design the hospital of the future – a hospital that embraces our patients and supports our staff with the ultimate in clinical excellence, safety, convenience and comfort.”

The 158-bed replacement hospital, which will open in the spring of 2008, will be part of a 54-acre health care campus on what is now Lakewood Golf Course, just south of I-44. The hospital will feature the latest clinical technology and information systems to support a full range of services, including a 24-hour emergency department and comprehensive medical/surgical services such as heart, cancer, orthopedics and women’s services.

The campus also will include an outpatient care center offering convenient one-stop service, and a medical office building. At the heart of the campus will be a state-of-the-art information technology system to strengthen the quality of services, improve efficiencies and enhance patient safety.

“This new hospital will offer a greatly enhanced health care environment with the qualities we know our patients prefer,” said Sherry Hausmann, president of St. Joseph Hospital of Kirkwood, who will also be president of the new hospital. “It will benefit not only our patients in the Kirkwood area but also those in the rapidly growing area of southwest St. Louis County.”

The new hospital will continue SSM Health Care’s strong history of service and mission in the St. Louis region to deliver exceptional health care services. Other amenities planned for the hospital and health care campus include:

• Spacious, all private rooms that offer convenient overnight accommodations for loved ones.
• “One-stop” convenience for a full range of outpatient services such as lab, x-ray and other diagnostic services.
• An intelligent design that takes full advantage of the site’s natural beauty, including gardens, fountains and other water features, courtyards and wooded areas.
• Abundant parking close to all entrances and exits.

 About SSM Health Care

With 7 hospitals, nearly 2,000 staff physicians and 8,600 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, SSM includes SSM Cardinal Glennon Children's Hospital, SSM DePaul Health Center, SSM St. Joseph Health Center, SSM St. Joseph Hospital West, SSM St. Joseph Hospital of Kirkwood, SSM St. Mary's Health Center and SSM Rehab, plus 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.