Social and environmental conditions, access to nutritious food, safe housing, and other resources all play an important role in our overall health and well-being. At SSM Health, we’re partnering with our communities to address these issues to help our patients lead their healthiest lives.
In 2024, SSM Health invested $406 million in programs and services that have improved the health of our communities. Based on findings from Community Health Needs Assessments, we work together with government agencies, charitable foundations, and other local organizations – helping people access preventive care, investing in critical services, and bringing hope to individuals in difficult times.
In addition to this financial community benefit investment, we consistently engage in a wide variety of initiatives to advance community health. We also operate safety-net hospitals and are the largest provider of Medicaid and behavioral health services in nearly every community we serve.
We have integrated screenings for social determinants of health – such as food insecurity, access to safe housing, and transportation – into standard patient care in order to identify and meet critical needs to support positive health outcomes.
Understanding that a healthy environment is essential to overall well-being, we are committed to comprehensive environmental sustainability initiatives. These efforts include minimizing medical waste and energy usage, planting trees to reverse urban deforestation, and adopting green building practices.
SSM Health is also a member of the national Healthcare Anchor Network and the St. Louis Anchor Action Network, which focus on improving community health and well-being.
Our work during 2024 to positively impact the health of the communities we serve included:
- Leaders at SSM Health St. Mary’s Hospital - Jefferson City collaborated with area health care providers and United Way of Central Missouri to introduce HealthTran, a community-based program that offers transportation to medical appointments free of charge to patients with financial challenges. The program is supported by volunteer drivers and is funded by the SSM Health St. Mary’s Hospital Foundation. All SSM Health medical group locations and several hospital-based departments in Mid-Missouri have been trained to use the HealthTran portal to schedule rides for patients. The program provided 183 rides during 2024.
- SSM Health’s St. Anthony Hospital - Oklahoma City, St. Anthony Hospital - Midwest, and St. Anthony Hospital - Shawnee have partnered with Cardinal Community House to provide respite care for adult patients experiencing homelessness. The shelter offers a safe, medically appropriate environment to rest and heal after hospitalization. Patients have access to case management, social workers, home health visits, and medication services. They receive three meals a day and clothing and hygiene supplies, in addition to education and therapy for substance abuse and help with permanent housing, official identification, family reunification, and transportation. SSM Health referred 216 unhoused patients to Cardinal Community House in 2024.
- In July 2024, SSM Health’s St. Mary’s Hospital - Centralia and Good Samaritan Hospital - Mt. Vernon introduced the Bread Basket Program in partnership with the Central Illinois Area Food Bank and Feeding America. The initiative provides a short-term supply of healthy, shelf-stable food items to qualifying patients, along with a list of community resources for longer-term food access. At each of the two hospitals, an average of 40 patients each month are screened and identified as not having consistent access to enough food for themselves to lead an active and healthy lifestyle.
- The Epworth Youth Drop-In Center in the St. Louis suburb of Normandy – a collaboration among SSM Health, IFM Community Medicine, and Operation Food Search – serves at-risk and homeless youth and young adults. The partnership provides on-site health care services, food boxes, and cooking and nutrition classes. The center served 270 individuals and provided 335 food boxes during 2024. Operation Food Search also offered seven nutritional education activities in 2024 to support the development of practical life skills and promote healthy eating habits.
- SSM Health St. Clare Hospital – Baraboo partnered with Sauk County Public Health to install a grant-funded harm reduction vending machine in the public entrance of the hospital’s emergency department. The machine provides Narcan nasal spray, a lifesaving medication that can reverse respiratory depression in opioid overdose situations. It also offers medication disposal kits and substance use and mental health resources – all at no charge. The vending machines have proven a valuable resource, and SSM Health and Sauk County Public Health also installed a similar vending machine at SSM Health’s Urgent Care location in Lake Delton, Wisconsin.
