Wednesday, September 02, 2015
SSM Health and SLU expand partnership as SSM Health assumes ownership of the academic hospital.
SSM Health announced today that it has committed $500 million to build a new replacement hospital and outpatient care center within the next five years. The new facilities will be located in the immediate vicinity of the current hospital – now known as SSM Health St. Louis University Hospital.
The announcement comes as SSM Health and Saint Louis University mark the official start of their expanded partnership, which includes Saint Louis University Hospital joining SSM Health St. Louis. In June, SLU announced it would reacquire the hospital from Tenet Healthcare Corporation and would contribute the facility to SSM Health in exchange for a minority financial interest and governance rights in SSM Health St. Louis. The deal became official September 1.
“While the current hospital has served the community well, we have the opportunity to construct state-of-the-art academic facilities that incorporate the best practices in patient-centered design,” said William P. Thompson, president/CEO of SSM Health. “This significant investment will enable us to deliver an improved patient experience and even better care for our community.”
In addition to the planned construction projects, SSM Health will make some immediate capital investments in the current facility to ensure continued exceptional care.
“We are excited about what these projects will mean for health care in St. Louis and for medical and health education at Saint Louis University,” said SLU President Fred P. Pestello, Ph.D. “We are eager to work even more closely with SSM Health — an organization with shared values and a similar mission — to forge a healthier future for the St. Louis region.”
For the past several decades, Saint Louis University’s physician practice, SLUCare Physician Group, and SSM Health have partnered to provide pediatric and maternal-fetal medicine services to patients at SSM Health Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital and SSM Health St. Mary’s Hospital.
The relationship between SSM Heath and the University extends back more than a century. In 1903, SSM Health’s founding congregation, the Sisters of St. Mary (now known as the Franciscan Sisters of Mary) welcomed SLU School of Medicine students into their hospitals for education and training. In 1928, the University and the Sisters worked together to establish SLU’s School of Nursing.
In 1933, the Sisters and SLU opened the hospital on South Grand Boulevard today known as SSM Health Saint Louis University Hospital. The hospital continued to be owned and operated jointly until 1959, when the Sisters donated their share to the University. SLU sold the hospital to Tenet Healthcare Corporation in 1998.
Now, in 2015, as SSM Health assumes ownership of the hospital and SSM Health St. Louis and Saint Louis University expand their partnership, the long history of collaboration between these two Catholic organizations comes full circle.
ssmhealth.com
