Hello, and welcome to the SSM Health Care-St. Louis quality Web site. The fact that you are here demonstrates that you appreciate and understand that quality in relation to hospitals is an incredibly important issue, and one that should factor into your decision on where to seek care.

The term "quality" means different things to different people. At SSM Health Care, it means striving to always be exceptional -- exceptional in the ways in which we treat our patients, employees and physicians, and exceptional in the care we deliver.

SSM Health Care began this quality journey in earnest in 1990 with system-wide implementation of continuous quality improvement (CQI).  SSM Health Care was among the first Catholic sponsored health care systems in the nation to do so. Continuous quality improvement was embraced as a way for the system to fulfill its mission. As a result, SSM Health Care has been continuously lauded as a trailblazer in providing top quality health care services, as well as quality in the workplace.

In 2002, SSM Health Care became the first health care winner of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, an award given by the President of the United States to organizations that are judged to be outstanding in seven areas -- leadership; strategic planning; customer and market focus; measurement, analysis, and knowledge management; human resource focus; process management; and results. Only three Baldrige Awards are given in each category each year. (Click here for a list of additional quality awards SSM Health Care has won).

For several years, SSM Health Care also has had in place what we call the SSM Clinical Collaboratives, which were designed to enhance clinical improvement efforts throughout the network by sharing best practices and information across all of our hospitals.

But the quality journey never ends. SSM Health Care is constantly striving to do better, and is always looking for new ways to improve. Part of that process is this Web site, which is designed to give you quick and easy access to clinical and patient safety information for our hospitals so that you can make informed decisions on your or a loved one's care.

If you're not sure what you're looking for in terms of quality information on our hospitals, try clicking the Quality Overview link at the top of this page for a quick tutorial on how data is gathered and reported. Or, if you are ready to just view the data, click the Quality Scores link on the left side of this page. I also encourage you to read through the Patient Education section, which contains valuable information on how to choose a doctor, and the things you should think about before coming to the hospital.

We believe we are partners in the health care process, so if you don't find what you are looking for on this site, or simply want to tell us about an experience at one of our hospitals, please let us know. Your feedback will help us ensure we're living up to our own standards, and doing all we can to meet your needs. Thank you for visiting.

James M. Sanger, President/CEO
SSM Health Care-St. Louis