ST. LOUIS – All five SSM Health Care – St. Louis adult acute care hospitals are Premier’s QUEST 2011 Top Performing Hospitals. The honor recognizes hospitals who are national leaders in improving patient quality and safety (in the areas of heart attack, congestive heart failure, pneumonia and reducing surgical complications), reducing mortality rates and reducing health care costs. 
This is the third year SSM DePaul Health Center, SSM St. Joseph Health Center and SSM St. Mary’s Health Center received the honor, and the second year for SSM St. Clare Health Center and SSM St. Joseph Hospital West. In addition to the SSM Health Care – St. Louis hospitals, Good Samaritan Regional Health Center, Mount Vernon, Ill. and St. Mary’s Hospital, Centralia, Ill. are other SSM Health Care winning entities.
SSM Health Care – St. Louis hospitals are among the 120 hospitals that received the QUEST 2011 Top Performing Hospitals award. More than 2,500 U.S. hospitals and 78,000 other care sites are members of Premier.
Premier’s QUEST program supports hospitals in delivering the best care possible, as well as sharing collaborative solutions to improve healthcare nationwide and influence public policies. Together, QUEST members share ideas, strategies and proven practices to reduce variation, an approach that has been shown to improve care quality, safety and cost. An advisory panel of experts from the country’s top health organizations, such as the National Quality Forum, The Joint Commission and the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, also help guide collaborative members to achieve success.
“This recognition highlights our commitment to learn and provide the highest quality, most cost-effective and most satisfying hospital experience for our patients,” said Kevin Johnson, M.D., regional vice president and chief medical officer for SSM Health Care – St. Louis. “Our collaboration through Quest and sharing of patient outcomes data and provider best practices, helps both our SSM Health Care – St. Louis hospitals and other hospitals across the country to continue to improve patient care.”
In just 30 months, QUEST members displayed effective health care results better than the national average, including:
• Five percent lower observed mortality than non-participants when compared to what is expected.
• Only a four percent increase in costs for inpatient care, compared to a national cost increase of 21 percent.
• Increasing adherence to evidence-based care delivery in patient experience, harm and readmissions last year to support new improvement goals such as those proposed by the Partnership for Patients program.
About Premier healthcare alliance, Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award recipient
Premier is a performance improvement alliance of more than 2,500 U.S. hospitals and 80,000-plus other healthcare sites using the power of collaboration to lead the transformation to high quality, cost-effective care. Premier will announce complete year three collaborative results in January.
About SSM Health Care – St. Louis
SSM Health Care – St. Louis’ mission statement — “Through our exceptional health care services, we reveal the healing presence of God” — is embodied by 11,000 employees and 2,500 staff physicians. Sponsored by the Franciscan Sisters of Mary, the health care network offers comprehensive health care services, but specializes in heart, cancer, neurosciences, pediatrics, weight-loss, sleep, imaging, behavioral health, rehab and fetal surgery. A winner of the Missouri Quality Award and multiple Best Places to Work awards, SSM Health Care – St. Louis includes seven hospitals ― Cardinal Glennon Children’s Medical Center, DePaul Health Center, St. Clare Health Center, St. Joseph Health Center, St. Joseph Health Center – Wentzville, St. Joseph Hospital West and St. Mary’s Health Center ― a free-standing ambulatory care center (St. Joseph Medical Park), plus a Managed Care Organization (MCO), and a Physicians' Organization (PO). Go to www.ssmhealth.com for more information.
For media inquires only, contact:
Kristen Johnson
Media Relations Specialist
SSM Health Care – St. Louis
314-989-2208 (office)
314-908-0225 (pager)
kristen_johnson@ssmhc.com