St. Louis (May 9, 2005) — In keeping with its goal to always seek new ways for quality improvement, SSM Health Care-St. Louis has joined The Center for Health Design’s Pebble Project research program -- a unique partnership of hospitals and health care systems dedicated to facility design that makes a difference in the quality of care.

The partnership will help SSM Health Care-St. Louis design and build the hospital of the future in Southwest St. Louis County. The health care network in April received approval from the State of Missouri to replace SSM St. Joseph Hospital of Kirkwood with a $215 million health care campus.

SSM Health Care’s goal with the 158-bed hospital, which will open in the spring of 2008, is to create a unique healing environment – a human-centered hospital designed with the needs of patients, physicians and employees top-of-mind. With its participation in the Pebble Project, SSM Health Care gains access to research and data from other member hospitals that are undertaking similar projects. The project also gives SSM Health Care access to some of the most talented experts in health care design.

“By collaborating with Pebble partners and experts from across the U.S., we can better understand how to design a hospital that will truly change the way health care in St. Louis is delivered,” said Bob Porter, executive vice president for strategy and business development with SSM Health Care-St. Louis and leader of the new hospital project. “Conversely, the lessons we learn and share can help other health care networks further improve care delivery. The best part, however, is that the benefactors of these collaborations are the people who matter most -- patients, staff and physicians.”

The Pebble Project was initiated with San Diego Children's Hospital & Health Center in 2000. The purpose of the work is to create a “ripple effect” in the health care community by providing researched and documented examples of health care facilities that have used evidence-based design to improve the quality of care as well as the financial performance of the institution.

Like evidence-based medicine, evidence-based design relies on data to make decisions about the design of health care facilities. Research relevant to health care design comes from several disciplines, including environmental factors (privacy, artwork, music, etc.); clinical factors (patient safety, technology, infections, errors, etc.) and administration factors (cost per patient per day, nursing hours, patient transfers, etc.) By incorporating evidence-based design into their facilities, Pebble Project partners have seen reduced staff turnover rates, increases in patient satisfaction, reduced patient falls, fewer infections, decreases in patient transfers and more.

SSM Health Care’s commitment to quality has been steadfast for many years. In 2002, SSM became the first health care winner of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. More recently, the health care network was awarded Missouri Team Quality Award for an emergency department program that reached across all seven of the network’s St. Louis entities. SSM Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital also received a Missouri Quality Award in 2004.

“Our mission statement is thirteen simple words – through our exceptional health care services, we reveal the healing presence of God,” said Ron Levy, president and CEO of SSM Health Care-St. Louis. “Our membership in the Pebble Project is just one more step in our exceptional journey. We want our patients to feel that they’ve not only received the best possible health care services, but that they’ve received them in an environment that helps them feel at ease. Our patients deserve no less.”

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.