SSM Wins 2011 Missouri Quality Award

SSM Health Care has earned a 2011 Missouri Quality Award, which is given by the Excellence in Missouri Foundation and honors excellence in such areas as organizational performance, leadership, customer service and satisfaction. In addition, SSM Integrated Health Technologies has also been named a 2011 Missouri Quality Award recipient. The award is modeled after the prestigious Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. The Excellence in Missouri Foundation made the announcement yesterday.

It is the second time the system has earned the award (2011 and 1999), and the fourth time SSM Integrated Health Technologies has received the award (2011, 2008, 2005 and 2002). SSM Health Care and SSM Integrated Health Technologies will be honored at the Excellence in Missouri Foundation Conference Nov. 17 in Columbia, Mo. Other 2011 MQA recipients were the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City and University of Missouri Health Care in Columbia, Mo.

SSM applied for the Missouri Quality Award (MQA) as a system this year. The MQA examiners visited 21 SSM locations, held 70 meetings and talked to more than 1,500 SSM employees from all over the system.

SSM Health Care, headquartered in St. Louis, is a Catholic, not-for-profit health system that owns 15 hospitals and two nursing homes in Missouri, Wisconsin, Oklahoma, and Illinois. SSM Integrated Health Technologies, headquartered in Richmond Heights, Mo., provides information, technology and clinical engineering services to hospitals and physician organizations for SSM Health Care.

“I am so thankful and proud to be able to serve with so many people that are dedicated to our Mission of revealing the healing presence of God through our exceptional health care services,” said SSM President/CEO Bill Thompson. “This award comes as a direct result of all of our employees' high level of performance and their commitment to our patients.”

Tom Langston, SSM senior vice president - chief information officer, offered his deep thanks and high praise for the work SSM Integrated Health Technologies does to support those who care for SSM's patients. "We work every day to meet the needs of our colleagues and to ensure the integrity of our technology throughout SSM Health Care," Langston said.

Since the MQA's inception in 1992, SSM Health Care organizations have earned the award 14 times: SSM-St. Louis (2010); St. Mary’s Health Center, Jefferson City, Mo. (2009); SSM DePaul Health Center, Bridgeton, Mo. (2006); SSM Integrated Health Technologies, Richmond Heights, Mo. (2011, 2008, 2005 and 2002); SSM St. Joseph Health Center, St. Charles, Mo. (2005); SSM Cardinal Glennon Children’s Medical Center, St. Louis (2004); St. Francis Hospital & Health Services, Maryville, Mo. (2008, 2004 and 1996); and SSM Health Care, based in St. Louis (2011 and 1999).