St. Anthony Hospital Rebuilds and Reaches Out ... - SSM Health Care

Fall 2008
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Our Bimonthly Publication for Employees, Physicians and Friends
St. Anthony Hospital Rebuilds
and Reaches Out to Community
By Alan Wesley
This is the first installment in a three-part series on St. Anthony
Hospital and Bone & Joint Hospital. It is a story of two hospitals and
a city that combined leadership, innovation and courage to help
revive a community and continue a mission that began 110 years ago.
First up, St. Anthony Hospital.
The St. Anthony Hospital/Midtown Revival
OKLAHOMA CITY — Beginning in the 1970s, businesses and
residents began fleeing the center of Oklahoma City, leaving behind
vacant lots and deteriorating buildings. By 2003, St. Anthony also
considered relocating to the suburbs from its location in the Midtown
area. That year, an agreement between the hospital and the city
fueled an ongoing revival of the community.
Under the agreement, street access to the hospital was improved, a
streetscape redevelopment began, dilapidated buildings were torn down
and new restaurants, stores and businesses have begun to rise in their
place. As part of its campus redevelopment plan, the hospital completed
a 100,000 square-foot medical office building and a new East Entrance.
Continued on Page 6
Compare our care to
hospitals in your state
and nationally.
Post on The Balancing
Act blog with working mom
Kate and SSMHC pediatrician
Dr. Doug Barton.
Enter the safety poster
contest. Deadline Oct. 31
For the most up-to-date
SSM News, go to ssmhc.com.
St. Anthony Hospital
Road Trip
Showcases
St. Mary’s
Turnaround
By Suzy Farren
Road trip!
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. —
On Sept. 12, at the behest of SSM
Health Care CEO Sr. Mary Jean Ryan,
some 15 people from the SSM Health
Care – St. Louis leadership team
traveled by bus to Jefferson City
to learn about a transformation at
St. Mary’s Health Center.
Continued on Page 5
Brent VanConia, president of St. Mary’s Health Center, shares a moment — but not his ice cream —
with Jim Sanger, SSMHC-St. Louis president and CEO.

— Our Bimonthly Publication for Employees, Physicians and Friends
Inside View
A letter from Sr. Mary Jean Ryan, FSM
Got Goals
This summer I made my annual site visits to all of our facilities. At each facility,
I visited four departments where I spoke with employees and managers
and took a look at posters. In some instances, the posters were stellar. They
beautifully documented the specific (and measurable) things the department
was doing to improve.
Sister Mary Jean Ryan, FSM
President/CEO
Sr. Mary Jean
Makes “Most
Powerful” List
ST. LOUIS — Sister Mary
Jean Ryan, FSM, President
and Chief Executive Officer
of SSM Health Care, has
been named one of the
100 most powerful people
in health care by Modern
Healthcare magazine.
Sister Mary Jean, who was
voted in at number thirteen
on this year’s list, has been
included among the 100 most
powerful people in health care
for six consecutive years.
In other instances, the posters
weren’t so great. The thing that pains
me the most is when a department
doesn’t seem to understand why our
posters and passports exist. Or they
think they only exist to please me.
SO I’D LIKE TO EXPLAIN
THREE THINGS:
• Why we have measurable
and specific goals
• Why we have posters
• Why we have passports
First, GOALS. The goals relate to our
Mission: “Through our exceptional
health care services, we reveal the
healing presence of God.” SSM Health
Care is on a journey to become the
very best health-care system anywhere.
Because when we achieve that, we will
know that our patients are getting the
best care humanly possible.
We have three areas on which we are
focused to help us achieve that Mission.
Those three areas are:
Exceptional Patient Care,
which is measured by
• Patient/Customer Satisfaction
• Safety and
• Clinical/Service Outcomes
Exceptional Commitment,
which is measured by
• Employee Satisfaction and
• Physician Satisfaction
Exceptional Financial Performance/
Growth, which is measured by
• Financial Performance and Growth
If we have exceptional patient care,
exceptional commitment, and
exceptional financial performance/
growth, we will be exceptional. The
way we become exceptional is through
everyone who works in this organization.
And that brings me to posters.
POSTERS. If you don’t know what you
want to achieve, you’re never going to
get there. We have posters to clearly state
goals and action items to achieve those
goals. My expectation is that every
department in the system fill out a poster.
Every department wants to improve
patient satisfaction. So let’s say the biggest
dissatisfier in a department is response
to call lights. The goal could read: “We
improve patient satisfaction by reducing
the use of call lights from 65 per month
to zero.” The poster would reflect the
Our Mission
Through our exceptional
department’s health care progress services, in reducing call
reveal the
lights as well as actions that the
healing presence of God
department would take to achieve the
Our Values
Compassion
goal – such as hourly rounding, www.ssmhc.com
Respect
scripting
Excellence
regarding better Stewardship patient-caregiver
Community
communication, anticipation of needs, etc.
Characteristics of
For
Exceptional
2009, we
Health Care
introducing brandnew
big and bright posters that
Exceptional Patient Care
Exceptional Commitment
© 2008will
SSM Health Care
Exceptional Financial
All Rights Reserved
Performance/Growth
make it easy for every department to
graphically document its goals and
the action items that are designed to
achieve the goals. Think of the posters
as a report card on the department’s
progress. The best news is that posters
are easily filled out on the Goal Poster
Web site, which has been moved to a
place front and center on our Intranet.
Look for the colorful “Department
Goal Poster Development” under
System Initiatives.
PASSPORTS. We’ve also revised the
passports for 2009 and everyone in the
system will be using similar passports.
These passports document the specific
actions every employee will take to help
the department achieve its goals. The
passports are a very real way that each
of us contributes to our Mission.
Thank you for the work you do to
bring our Mission to life. I am already
looking forward to my visits next
summer. God bless you.
Passport
NAME
Goals for 20_____
Revised passport for 2009
Our Mission
Through our exceptional
health care services,
we reveal the
healing presence of God
Our Values
Compassion
Respect
Excellence
Stewardship
Community
Characteristics of
Exceptional Health Care
Exceptional Patient Care
Exceptional Commitment
Exceptional Financial
Performance/Growth
www
© 2008
All R
SSM Health Care is sponsored by the Franciscan Sisters of Mary.
Look for Network online
at ssmhc.com and
the SSMHC Intranet.
Our Mission
Through our exceptional health care services, we reveal
the healing presence of God.
Our Core Values
In accordance with the philosophy of the Franciscan Sisters
of Mary, we value the sacredness and dignity of each person.
Therefore, we find these five values consistent with both our
heritage and ministerial priorities:
Compassion • Respect • Excellence •
Stewardship • Community
Corporate Office
477 N. Lindbergh Blvd.
St. Louis, MO 63141
Phone: (314) 994-7800
Fax: (314) 994-7900
Dixie L. Platt
Senior Vice President -
Mission & External
Relations
Suzy Farren
Vice President
Corporate Communications
Alan Wesley
Corporate Publications Manager
Annice barnes
Distribution & Editorial
Assistant
How to Contact Us
Send questions, comments, or
suggestions for future issues of
SSM Network to Annice Barnes,
at (314) 994-7913.
Media Inquiries
Permission is granted to quote
any material in Network, if
source is cited. Reporters seeking
additional information
should contact Annice Barnes
at (314) 994-7913. Contact
names and phone numbers are
provided in Network to facilitate
networking and information
sharing among employees and
physicians of SSM Health Care
and its entities.
SSM Health Care provides equal
employment opportunities, without
regard to race, color, religion,
sex, age, national origin, veteran
status, or disability to all qualified
applicants and executives.
Network is printed on recycled
paper that is recyclable. A web
printing press is used, making
four-color economical.
Who We Are: Missouri: SSM Cardinal Glennon Children’s Medical Center • SSM DePaul Health Center • SSM St. Joseph Health Center • SSM St. Joseph Health Center–Wentzville
• SSM St. Joseph Hospital West • SSM St. Joseph Hospital of Kirkwood • SSM St. Mary’s Health Center-St. Louis • SSM Rehab • SSM Home Care • SSM Integrated Health Technologies
• SSM Support Services • St. Francis Hospital & Health Services • St. Mary’s Health Center-Jefferson City • Illinois: St. Mary’s Good Samaritan Inc.—Mount Vernon and Centralia Campuses •
Wisconsin: Boscobel Area Health Care • Columbus Community Hospital • St. Clare Hospital and Health Services • St. Clare Meadows Care Center • St. Mary’s Hospital–Madison • St. Mary’s Care Center
• Stoughton Hospital • Oklahoma: Bone & Joint Hospital, LLC • St. Anthony Hospital • Unity Health Center (North & South)
Fall 2008
SSM Health Care

— Our Bimonthly Publication for Employees, Physicians and Friends
In The News
SSM Responds to the Economic Crisis
ST. LOUIS, mo. — On Sept. 25, SSM Health Care
presidents and members of the Office of the President
(OOP) participated in a Webinar on SSM’s response
to the national economic crisis. The following day, the
same Webinar was held for administrative councils.
Noting that revenues from operations this year
have not met plan and that SSM’s investments
have suffered during the economic downturn, the
following measures are being taken by the OOP:
• 2009 capital decisions are deferred until at
least December.
• Previously approved capital projects over
$1 million must be approved by the Office
of the President.
• Whenever possible, previously approved
capital expenditures under $1 million will be
delayed, and the money carried forward.
• The Corporate Office will work to reduce
expenses, including the cancellation of faceto-face
meetings for the remainder of 2008
and into 2009, which will reduce travel and
other meeting expenses.
Suggestion boxes also will be placed in every
SSM entity to solicit ideas from employees on
how to improve care or ways to reduce expenses.
“This has been a year for many changes at
SSM Health Care, and I know change can be
difficult. I urge you to be strong,” said Sister Mary
Jean Ryan, FSM, President and Chief Executive
Officer of SSM Health Care. “Above all, we must
think of our patients first. We must keep them
safe and continue to provide exceptional and
passionate care.”
Three SSM Hospitals Join Elite Group
With the launch of the electronic health record (EHR) at SSM St. Joseph
Hospital of Kirkwood, Mo., on Sept. 20, three SSM Health Care facilities have
joined an elite group.
According to the Healthcare Information and Management Systems
Society (HIMSS), a national organization that specializes in health-care
information technology, the three SSM hospitals rank in the top 1 percent of
all U.S. hospitals when it comes to their use of EHR.
SSM St. Joseph of Kirkwood joins SSM St. Joseph Hospital West in Lake
Saint Louis, Mo., and St. Mary’s Hospital in Madison Wis., in their successful
conversion to the EHR.
DePaul Locked Down While Treating
Victims of Chemical Spill
BRIDGETON, Mo. — On Saturday, Aug. 30, SSM DePaul Health
Center was temporarily locked down when three people sought treatment
there after a chemical spill at an East St. Louis, Ill. chemical plant.
A total of eight people were exposed to the highly toxic chemical
P-nitroaniline during an accident at the plant. P-nitroaniline can, among
many other symptoms, cause severe breathing problems that can be fatal.
Five people were treated at other area hospitals.
The three patients from the chemical plant drove themselves to the
DePaul emergency department, arriving about 3 p.m., Saturday. This
prompted the lockdown of the entire DePaul campus until Saturday
evening and the emergency department until 2 p.m., Sunday afternoon.
Hazardous material teams were called in and the patients were
decontaminated and admitted to the emergency department. Fifteen
emergency department staff and doctors also were decontaminated.
All the patients survived and no illness was reported among the healthcare
workers who treated them.
Before the emergency department re-opened, a team from the
Center for Toxicology & Environmental Health supervised a thorough
cleanup of the department.
“The teamwork, cooperation and genuine concern for the well-being
of all involved that was displayed by the ED doctors and nurses, the
paramedics and techs, as well as DePaul security and the Pattonville Fire
Department’s hazmat team was nothing short of amazing,” said Cherie
Blaesing, care team coordinator in charge of the emergency department
when chemical spill patients arrived.
The command center at SSM St. Joseph Hospital of Kirkwood minutes before the electronic health record
became a reality.
DePaul Physicians Pioneer Procedure to Treat Obesity
BRIDGETON, MO. — Two
that slows down digestion and
or lighter than those who qualify
physicians at SSM DePaul
makes patients feel full after
as candidates for more traditional
Health Center and one of their
eating a small amount of food.
gastric bypass surgery.
partners in a medical device
“Obesity is a national
The procedure has been
company called Satiety, Inc.,
epidemic and this procedure
tested in other countries
have pioneered a less invasive
has the potential to open the
since 2006. However, the
way to treat obesity.
door for more patients to
first U.S. study began in July
Drs. Roger de la Torre
receive a potentially life-saving
2008, when a woman from
and J. Stephen Scott, on
cure,” said Dr. Scott.
Granite City, Ill., had the TOGA
staff at the SSM Weight Loss
Unlike other bariatric
procedure in St. Louis. U.S.
Institute at DePaul, and Dr.
procedures, the TOGA does
Food and Drug Administration
Thomas J. Fogarty developed
not require any incisions. That
approval is pending upon the
the first endoscopic gastric
bypass procedure.
Dr. Roger de la Torre
Dr. J. Stephen Scott
translates into quicker recovery
times, shortened hospital
completion of the study.
The procedure, called
instruments inserted into the
doctors position a sleeve
stays, and a decreased risk of
Listen to Dr. Roger de la
transoral gastroplasty (TOGA),
stomach through the mouth.
and staple a section of the
complications. TOGA also can be
Torre talk about weight loss
involves the use of flexible
With the aid of an endoscope,
stomach into a small pouch
used on patients who are heavier
surgery at ssmhc.com
SSM Health Care Fall 2008

— Our Bimonthly Publication for Employees, Physicians and Friends
Sherlyn Hailstone
Hailstone is Cardinal
Glennon President
ST. LOUIS, MO. — Sherlyn Hailstone became president of
SSM Cardinal Glennon Children’s Medical Center on Oct. 6.
“Sherlyn brings a combination of strengths to a unique job,”
said Jim Sanger, president/CEO of SSM Health Care-St. Louis.
“She’s a nurse. She has a strong background in operations, and
she understands the relationship between Cardinal Glennon
and Saint Louis University.”
Hailstone will also be service line leader for maternal child
care — a new post under the recently announced restructuring
of SSMHC-St. Louis.
Hailstone joined SSM Health Care in 2005 as president
of SSM St. Joseph Health Center in St. Charles, Mo.
On the same day that Hailstone became president of Glennon, Doug Ries stepped down after
28 years of service. Ries begins a new part-time role with SSM Health Care-St. Louis, as a senior
network executive for university affiliations.
Warren Appointed President
of Mt. Vernon Campus
MOUNT VERNON, ILL. —
Mike Warren has been
named president of St. Mary’s
Good Samaritan Inc.-Mount
Vernon campus.
Warren has served in a
variety of key roles at the
hospital. Most recently, he has
led the replacement hospital
project for Good Samaritan
and served as the hospital’s
interim president.
Mike Warren
Graue to Leave SSM
ST. LOUIS — Mike Graue,
president/South Operating
Group, SSM Health Care-St. Louis,
has resigned effective Nov. 30.
Graue has accepted the position
of executive vice president/COO
for WellStar Health System in
Marietta, Ga.
Graue joined SSMHC-
St. Louis in 1997 as its executive
vice president of operations.
“Mike has been a stabilizing force
Mike Graue
in our organization, and a respected mentor for many. He will be
missed by all,” said Jim Sanger, president/CEO of SSMHC-St. Louis.
New Name for Janesville Hospital
MADISON — On Oct. 1, SSM Health Care of Wisconsin
announced the name of the hospital to be constructed in
Janesville, Wis.
The 50-bed facility and the physician office complex
will be called St. Mary’s Janesville Hospital.
Watch a news report on St. Mary’s Janesville Hospital being
built in Wisconsin at ssmhc.com
Syringes Replace Shovels at Groundbreaking
SUN PRAIRIE, WIS. — The Aug. 28 groundbreaking
ceremony for the St. Mary’s Emergency Center-Sun Prairie
featured guests of honor arriving in emergency services
vehicles to break ground using giant syringes while the
sounds of running jackhammers played over loudspeakers.
The Emergency Center, a satellite facility of
St. Mary’s Hospital in Madison, Wis., will improve access
to emergency care for area residents when it opens
during the first half of 2009.
Right: Syringes replace shovels at the groundbreaking
ceremony for the St. Mary’s Emergency Center-Sun Prairie.
Below: A drawing of the new Emergency Center.
Fall 2008
SSM Health Care

— Our Bimonthly Publication for Employees, Physicians and Friends
Continued from Page 1
Road Trip Showcases St. Mary’s Turnaround
In the year since St. Mary’s got a “no-go” from SSM to
build a new hospital, the culture has changed significantly.
In fact, since that decision in July 2007, St. Mary’s has
improved in just about every way possible, causing SSM
to approve a new facility last February.
St. Mary’s President Brent VanConia talks
to the visiting SSM Health Care-St. Louis
leadership team.
What changed And why
When asked to sum up the change in one sentence,
St. Mary’s president Brent VanConia said: “We moved from
management to leadership.” The St. Mary’s executive team
has allowed the staff to take responsibility for their goals
and for achieving the outcomes, bringing out the leadership
abilities of employees.
The way VanConia sees it, it’s up to executive leadership
to set the organization’s vision; it’s up to the departments
to figure out how to get there. It’s also up to executive
leadership to be constantly in the departments to remind,
to suggest, and to celebrate – even, when absolutely
necessary, by dressing as John Travolta in Saturday Night Fever.
SSM Says No
VanConia came to St. Mary’s in February 2007, and became president
five months later after the previous president left. He began his new role
just after SSM had said “no” to a new hospital, leaving employees,
physicians and the community devastated. At the time, SSM did not have
confidence that St. Mary’s could turn around its results to justify the cost of
a new hospital. Satisfaction was at an all-time low and finances were tanking.
Pretty much the only thing that wasn’t bad was clinical results, which were
improving. Complaints were constant among employees. There were not
enough resources, not enough staff, and not enough fill-in-the-blank.
Shortly after the “no” decision on the new hospital, SSM announced it
was selling St. Francis Hospital in Blue Island, Il. Rumors began to circulate
at St. Mary’s that unless they did something, they would be sold, as well. It
was the beginning of a fierce determination to show SSM “we can do this.”
A Burning Platform
With a burning platform to turn St. Mary’s around, there was a
new sense of purpose among employees and physicians. Add to
that a management team that believed every employee was capable
of leadership. It was a formula for transformation. They called it
“optimism, passion, and persistence.”
Involving Managers
In the short term, the executive team focused on getting the hospital’s
financial house in order. They shifted the focus from growth to expense
management. Previously, the financial piece was seen as the responsibility
solely of executive leadership. VanConia made every manager responsible
for his or her department’s expenses — and then provided the education
and tools to help.
“In a sense, we took away the impediments and provided the
resources,” he says. “People had not had the tools to drill down
to find their expenses.”
Engaging Staff
St. Mary’s required every department to find ways to improve
inpatient satisfaction, a move that has led to significant innovation.
For instance, the Plant Operations department decided to do patient
rounding. Each staff member now visits 10 patients a week. These
visits provide a direct link between the work done by the department
staff and patient care. By asking patients about the temperature of their
room, Plant Operations employees recognize they play a role in the
patient’s comfort. Perhaps it’s best described by Mark Mahlan, a
HVAC technician: “No longer are we just cleaning out boilers or on
the roof, we are involved in the patient’s care.” Listen to Mark
Mahlan at ssmhc.com
Always Available
The executive team did other things, as well. VanConia and the other
administrative council members were always available. They allowed
departments to set their own goals. And they celebrated early successes,
no matter how small, reasoning that success breeds success. So, if a
department had patient satisfaction in the 30th percentile and its goal
was to reach the 48th percentile, that was fine. AC members continue
to be there to celebrate when a goal is met or to chat with the director
when it looks like the goal will not be met. In management-ese, it’s
From Left: Dr. Denise Tritz, director of the St. Mary’s Laboratory; Joe Hutinger, boiler
operator, plant operations, and Jim Sanger, SSMHC-St. Louis president/CEO.
called “tight, loose, tight.” In English, it’s called letting people know
you’re serious about achieving results and you’re there to help them.
Service Excellence
Once the financials began to improve, the hospital focused on Service
Excellence, a concept that resonated with the staff. VanConia and his
team listened when employees told him they were measuring too many
things, and they suggested staff focus only on what they believed really
mattered. Thus, it was enough to write thank-you notes. Documenting
the notes was no longer necessary. However, if Service Excellence was
the goal, then Press Ganey was the way to measure progress.
Did people leave
Yes. And some are still leaving. But VanConia believes that, by and
large, the right people are now in the right jobs at St. Mary’s. And although
employee satisfaction still has room for improvement (52nd percentile in
2008), it’s far better than it was a year ago (the fifth percentile). The way
the executive team sees it, “It’s about putting the right people in the right
jobs and then not telling them what to do. And not telling people what to
do takes discipline.”
Middle Managers
Changing the mindset of middle managers has been another key to
the hospital’s turnaround. “You give people the opportunity to succeed
and eventually you feel a sense of optimism and pride,” VanConia says.
A TV and print ad campaign that compares St. Mary’s clinical results to
the top hospitals in the nation has further helped boost pride. St. Mary’s
now ranks No. 2 in Missouri for its core measures, and its satisfaction
and its finances are on the rise.
SSM Says Yes
And, of course, St. Mary’s rapid turnaround prompted SSM earlier
this year to say “yes” to a new facility, further boosting the pride of
employees and physicians. Certainly, St. Mary’s is, as the new hospital
slogan goes, on a Mission.
Animated Discussion
For SSM St. Louis, which recently underwent a restructuring, the visit was
energizing. On the bus back to St. Louis, President/CEO Jim Sanger debriefed
with other members of his leadership team about what they learned, and it was
an animated discussion. Sanger is optimistic that some of the learnings will
help move SSM St. Louis toward its goal of best care, best results.
In October, a group from Wisconsin is slated to visit St. Mary’s, as well.
SSM Health Care Fall 2008

— Our Bimonthly Publication for Employees, Physicians and Friends
— Our Bimonthly Publication for Employees, Physicians and Friends
ST. ANTHONY HOSPITAL
Continued from Page 1
REBUILDS & REACHES OUT
TO COMMUNITY
The new East Entrance and medical office building (left).
Looking at the West Entrance of the hospital
over the water features installed in 2007.
Entrance to the hospital chapel.
Many hospital hallways have been transformed from the
bare off-gray walls and white-tile floors of the 1950s.
Trapped in the 1950s
When Joe Hodges became the hospital’s president
in 2005, he realized St. Anthony was at a disadvantage
when it came to attracting patients and recruiting
employees and physicians: “When your patient
satisfaction score is in the 13th percentile, employee
satisfaction scores are the worst in SSM, and your
physician satisfaction is near the bottom, you have to
ask yourself, ‘Who wants to come to this hospital’”
One problem was the hospital’s appearance.
Hodges noted that area residents repeatedly
described the hospital as “old,” “tired” and “Catholic.”
“I’m not sure what they meant by ‘Catholic,’” he said.
“Old” and “tired” were readily apparent. “All our walls
were off-gray, and our floors were white. We were
trapped in the 1950s,” Hodges recalled.
Fresh Image, Fresh Coffee,
and Fresh Produce
Today, many of the hospital walls are painted or
wallpapered in warm colors. Polished wood paneling and
wall sconces gleam above multi-colored floors. A new
100-foot-long water feature flows between buildings,
a tree-lined plaza is being constructed in front of the
new East Entrance, and a hospital-owned Starbucks has
opened in the new medical office building.
“It’s costly,” Hodges admits. “But it creates a new
image, and it shows how much we care about where
we work.”
Future ideas include a weekend farmer’s market
on the hospital’s east parking lot. “This is about trying
to bring people to our campus,” said Hodges. “We want
them to know we are a part of the community.”
MAKE IT EASY
St. Anthony isn’t sitting at its Starbucks waiting
to be discovered in an area that is home to just
3,500 residents. “Not enough people live here to
say we have a market area, and we’re not on an
interstate or freeway that provides easy access,
so we have to find ways to bring more people to
our hospital,” Hodges said.
The hospital’s new Breast Center is doing just that.
Its new Mammography Days program is a partnership
with local businesses that allow their female employees
time to get mammograms during the work day.
The Breast Center picks up the women at their
workplace, performs the mammograms at the Center and
delivers them back to work in an hour or less. While still
at the Breast Center, the women receive their test results
and are scheduled for follow-up testing within a day if it is
required. As they wait, the women receive refreshments
and are offered free manicures and massages.
According to Elaine Richardson, division director of
oncology and neurosciences, without Mammography Days,
many women said they would have skipped their annual
mammogram, or they would have had a mammogram
closer to their homes when they weren’t working.
The Center performed 100 mammograms during
four Mammography Days last year. All the businesses
that participated in 2007 have agreed to take part this
year, and the Center is on pace to double last year’s
mammogram total.
Transfers from Rural Hospitals:
Mom and the “Easy Button”
One of St. Anthony’s latest strategies resulted from
phone conversations between Hodges and his mother,
who lives in rural Oklahoma. “She kept telling me about
all the people she knew who were being transferred to
other hospitals,” he said. “I asked her, ‘Why aren’t these
hospitals sending patients to St. Anthony’” Her reply:
“Joe, why don’t you ask them”
Hodges did, and discovered that St. Anthony and
other Oklahoma City hospitals had a poor track record
when it came to processing transfers. Unity Hospital
in Shawnee, an affiliate hospital of St. Anthony, told
Hodges they would make multiple calls to his hospital
and often wait two hours or longer to receive approval
for a transfer from their emergency room to the
emergency room at St. Anthony. “So they would call
other local hospitals instead, and the first one to
respond received the patient,” Hodges said.
“We needed to streamline our process — make it
easy — like the ‘easy button’ you see in commercials,”
Hodges said. In an agreement with the Shawnee
hospital, St. Anthony designated a new phone number
for transfers. The calls are answered by a case
manager, seven days a week, 24 hours a day. Further,
Shawnee would be told in 30 minutes or less if a
transfer was approved.
The results: In the first month, the number
of transfers went from one patient every two
days to two patients a day. Hodges is working to
extend the program to 12 other rural Oklahoma
hospitals, with a goal of receiving 10 patients a
day via transfers.
Milk, Eggs, and Health Care
In a suburban Homeland Grocery Store, across
from the florist aisle, next to the camera film the
staff at a YourCARE Clinic are providing health care.
In May, St. Anthony Hospital teamed with Heisman
Trophy winner Jason White to open the first YourCARE
clinic in Oklahoma City. Since then, two more have
opened in Homeland Grocery Stores, with a fourth
scheduled to open in 2009.
The clinics, staffed by St. Anthony family nurse
practitioners seven days a week, treat minor injuries
and illnesses, offer cholesterol screenings, eye
exams, Pap smears, draw blood, and provide health
assessments and education. The staff can refill
prescriptions, and schedule appointments with
St. Anthony physicians within 24 hours.
“We’re not trying to replace doctors — we’re simply
improving access to care for people where they live,”
said family nurse practitioner Taryn Taylor.
Residents are still adjusting to the idea of health care in
a grocery store. Taylor notes that, despite the St. Anthony
Hospital banner that hangs above the clinic, some people
still stop at the window and ask to buy stamps.
The ‘Full-Fledged’ Clinic
At the headquarters of the Chesapeake Energy
Corporation in Oklahoma City, St. Anthony Hospital
has what Hodges calls a “full-fledged clinic.” Two
physicians and a dentist provide care and offer
same-day appointments for Chesapeake employees
and their families with St. Anthony specialists.
St. Anthony also has a smaller clinic for employees
at the American Fidelity Assurance Company, and
Hodges is looking to establish clinics in other Oklahoma
City companies. His search for these opportunities is
based on his belief that just waiting at the doors of the
hospital for patients to arrive won’t work. “We wouldn’t
survive that way,” he said.
Watch a slideshow
on St. Anthony Hospital’s
revitalization efforts
at ssmhc.com
In the December edition of
Network, find out why St. Anthony
Hospital’s inpatient, employee
and physician satisfaction scores
continue to soar.
A Starbucks just opened in the hospital.
One of the three YourCARE clinics in Oklahoma City-area grocery
stores staffed by St. Anthony family nurse practitioners.
Hospital’s East Entrance.
Fall 2008
SSM Health Care
SSM Health Care Fall 2008

— Our Bimonthly Publication for Employees, Physicians and Friends
Missouri
People
Honors
Bill Schoenhard, SSM
Health Care executive vice
president/COO, has been
reappointed by the American
Hospital Association as chair of
its Operations Committee and
ex officio member of its 2009
Executive Committee of its
Board of Trustees.
Sherry Hausmann,
president of SSM St. Joseph
Hospital of Kirkwood/SSM
St. Clare Health Center, was
named one of the 2008 Most
Influential Business Women by
the St. Louis Business Journal.
Neil Kiesel, executive
director-communications and
marketing for SSMHC-St. Louis,
was elected chair of the Missouri
Association for Healthcare Public
Relations & Marketing.
SSM Cardinal Glennon
Children’s Medical Center
physician, Dr. Richard Bucholz,
and SSM DePaul Health
Center, nurse Mary Medley
were named Health Care
Heroes by the St. Louis
Business Journal. Dr. William
Keenan, from Cardinal
Glennon, was a finalist.
APPOINTMENTS
Cathy Abrams is the new
executive vice president/COO
of St. Mary’s Health Center
in Jefferson City.
Deena Fischer was
promoted to director of
communications for
SSMHC-St. Louis.
Dr. Timothy Pratt has
been named full-time president
of medical affairs for SSM St.
Joseph Hospital of Kirkwood.
Cardinal Glennon Transport
Team Helps Hurricane Victims
ST. LOUIS — Just seven
hours after members of SSM
Cardinal Glennon Children’s
Medical Center’s transport
team received a call on Sept. 4
to help victims of Hurricane
Gustav, they were on a flight
for Lafayette, La.
That was seven hours of
saying goodbye to their families,
and seven hours of scrambling
by other nurses at Cardinal
Glennon to pack and organize
equipment before the team
caught a plane. Air Methods,
national organizer for the
transplant teams, said it was the
fastest deployment by a neonatal
team they had ever seen.
After landing, the four
transport team members —
flight nurses Terry Cuellar and
Dana Rolland, and respiratory
therapists Sandra Bates and
Carl Cook — became part of a
nationwide relief effort to help
transport patients in the stormaffected
communities.
Rolland was paired with
a paramedic from California
and a pilot from Florida in a
helicopter mission to bring a
16-month-old patient from
Shreveport to Lake Charles.
“It’s not like working here,
where you’re in constant contact
with Medical Control,” Rolland
said. “There, you had to make
judgment calls in the air.”
Because Cook, a respiratory
therapist, was not on the
helicopter, Rolland supplied
oxygen to the baby by bagging
for an hour during the flight.
New Test at Cardinal Glennon
Improves Diagnoses
ST. LOUIS — A new test at SSM Cardinal Glennon Children’s
Medical Center is helping physicians provide a greater number
of definitive diagnoses to patients with autism and other
developmental disorders.
Cardinal Glennon is one of the first hospitals in St. Louis
to provide Chromosomal Microarray Analysis, a method that
allows technicians to examine a patient’s DNA at a high resolution
to find gene abnormalities.
“A huge benefit of the new technology is that it reduces anxiety
for family members by improving the accuracy of the diagnosis
and eliminating the wondering of, ‘What’s wrong with my child’”
said Jacqueline Batanian, Ph.D., director of Molecular Genetics.
Jacqueline Batanian (standing)
SSM Cardinal Glennon Children’s Medical Center transport team members just before they depart from St. Louis
to help hurricane victims in Louisiana. From left: Carl Cook, Dana Rolland, Terry Cuellar, and Sandra Bates.
The team discovered a lot
of things happened quickly in
Gustav’s wake. They stayed in a
hotel crowded with evacuees and
repair people who were there to
restore electricity. Hospitals only
had a limited capacity to provide
care, and the shelves of the local
Wal-Mart were bare.
Rolland acknowledged the
sacrifices of her coworkers in
St. Louis: “This was a lot of work
for them, too. They were just as
important in this situation, and
they took a lot of extra calls so
we could function at full capacity
in Louisiana.” (Beth Cross)
Noelle and Hal Train OB Staff
and Get Media Attention
LAKE SAINT LOUIS — Noelle screams, bleeds, has
seizures, and delivers her baby, Hal, backwards, forwards
or by Caesarean section.
Noelle and Hal can do this (and much more) on cue, every
day because they are interactive birthing simulators — robots
that can be programmed for just about every kind of labor and
delivery complication.
The simulators were purchased by SSM St. Joseph Hospital West,
thanks to a donation from the SSM St. Joseph Foundation, and are
being used to train obstetrics staff. Eventually, the pair will travel to
other SSM Health Care-St. Louis hospitals to train staff.
Hal and Noelle received some attention from the St. Louis
media. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch posted a video report on Noelle
and Hal on its Web site, and the simulators were the subject of
a Fox2News report.
Kids Make Quilts for SSM
St. Clare Health Center
FENTON — When SSM St. Clare Health Center opens in 2009,
families having their babies there will receive handmade quilts
thanks to students in the Rockwood School District.
This fall, Rockwood students will have the opportunity to
participate in “Cuddle Covers,” an after-school program for
Fenton-area students. Elementary, middle and high-school
students will make the quilts.
In June, members of the Preservation of the Earth committee
at the SSM Health Care corporate office collected fabrics to donate
to the program.
The program was started by Robinson Elementary in the
Kirkwood, Mo., School District. The Kirkwood students supplied quilts
for SSM St. Joseph in Kirkwood, but the needles and thread have
been passed to Rockwood students who will provide quilts for the
replacement hospital in Fenton.
Fall 2008
SSM Health Care

— Our Bimonthly Publication for Employees, Physicians and Friends
New Cancer Center Will Be a Place
of Healing for Body and Soul
Artist’s rendering of the new cancer center at SSM St. Joseph Hospital West
LAKE SAINT LOUIS — Cancer patients
can visit their doctors, undergo diagnostic
tests, receive advanced treatments and
attend support group meetings all at the
SSM Cancer Care at SSM St. Joseph Hospital
West set to open in October.
The center will open to patients this month,
but a grand opening ceremony for this onestop
healing environment will be on Nov. 13.
The $9 million Cancer Care Center is
a joint venture between SSM St. Joseph
Hospital West, the private physicians’ group
Missouri Cancer Care, P.C., and Saint Louis
University Hospital. Cancer Care is also made
possible through the generous contributions
of the H.W. Koenig family.
St. Joseph Hospital West will operate a
Women’s Imaging and Breast Center and a
Cancer Information Center in the 52,000-
square-foot center. Missouri Cancer Care
physicians will provide chemotherapy
and radiation therapy services. Saint
Louis University Hospital will provide the
CyberKnife ® Radiosurgery System and
neuro-oncology services.
The CyberKnife ® is one of the most
sophisticated forms of non-invasive
radiosurgery available. This image-guided
technology is used to treat tumors anywhere
in the body with pinpoint accuracy, enabling
doctors to treat previously inoperative forms
of cancer. Currently, Cyberknife is offered at
fewer than 100 sites nationwide including
Saint Louis University Hospital.
The new Cancer Care will also offer a
serenity garden and a healing garden,
both of which are scheduled for completion
in November. The center is set beside the
Lake Saint Louis waterfront.
Said Dr. James Beattie, an SSM
St. Joseph West oncologist: “Cancer doesn’t
just attack the body; it attacks the mind
and the spirit. That’s why this building was
designed to be a non-institutionalized,
friendly, relaxing environment. This will be
a place of healing…both body and soul.”
“We believe that patient care is best
provided in a setting with coordinated
treatment programs,” said Dr. John Wilkes,
an oncologist with Missouri Cancer Care.
The new center will serve residents
of fast-growing St. Charles, Warren and
Lincoln counties.
Hospital Will
Have a Roof of a
Different Color
FENTON — Consider the roof of most
businesses and organizations: a flat,
monotone expanse only broken by rusting
vents, air conditioning units, antennas,
buckets, brooms and other things left behind.
SSM St. Clare Health Center has a better
idea — a green roof. When the hospital opens
in spring 2009, a portion of its roof will feature
beds of vegetation, thanks in part to a $55,000
grant from The Home Depot Foundation.
The green roof will not only look better,
it will provide improved drainage, added
insulation, better air quality and prevent
heat absorption.
DePaul Foundation Sets Record
BRIDGETON — In its first capital campaign, the SSM DePaul Foundation is reaching
new fundraising heights. The foundation has raised $1.3 million in its campaign to partially
finance the renovation of the SSM DePaul Health Center emergency department. That’s a
new record for the foundation for a single project.
The first phase of the emergency department renovation included a new 64-slice CT
scanner, 5,500 additional square feet of space, seven additional patient rooms, a redesigned
entrance and nurses’ station, a new ambulance entrance, waiting room, triage area and work
space for paramedics.
In its first few months, the new emergency department has already improved patient care.
Wait times have decreased dramatically, diversion hours are down, and the number of patients
leaving without being seen has dropped from 10 to 12 per day to three or four per day.
SSM Health Care provided $7.2 million toward the renovation, which will cost $10.3 million
when completed. A second phase will include a pediatric unit and a new digital radiology
room and equipment. The foundation’s goal, before its campaign ends in July 2009, is to
raise $900,000 for this phase of the renovation.
St. Joseph Takes a Cold, Environmentally
Friendly Drink Courtesy of Medical Staff
KIRKWOOD — The medical staff at
SSM St. Joseph Hospital of Kirkwood wanted
hospital employees and physicians to enjoy
the healthy benefits of water while still
following the SSM Health Care environmental
policy that discontinued the sale and
distribution of disposable plastic bottles.
So the medical staff purchased
reusable plastic drinking bottles for every
employee and physician at the hospital
— 1,200 in all. In addition, the hospital’s
housekeeping department set up a cold,
filtered water cooler and ice in the vending
area near the café.
“We saw there was a problem of not
having adequate cold drinking water,” said
Dr. Timothy Pratt, vice president of medical
affairs and president of the St. Joseph
medical staff. “We took Sister Mary Jean’s
wonderful initiative and turned it into a best
practice for our facility.”
SSM Health Care Fall 2008

10 — Our Bimonthly Publication for Employees, Physicians and Friends
Illinois
A Celebration of Life
After a Heart Attack
MOUNT VERNON — “It was the care
I received from St. Mary’s Good Samaritan
that saved my life,” said Ken Steinkamp at
the Fourth Annual Heart Reunion on the
Mount Vernon campus.
The hospital staff had selected
Steinkamp as the heart patient that
“exemplifies what it takes to beat heart
disease.” In March, Steinkamp suffered a
heart attack and underwent surgery and
12 weeks of cardiac rehabilitation at the
Centralia campus.
The reunion is held to celebrate the
health and friendships formed with the
hospital’s heart patients.
Mike Warren, left, president of St. Mary’s Good
Samaritan, Inc., presents the Patient of the
Year award to Ken Steinkamp.
Swinson Addresses National Conference on Volunteer Recruitment
Volunteering is not only a good thing to do; it’s good for you, according to Judy Looman
Swinson, director of volunteer services for St. Mary’s Good Samaritan, Inc.
Swinson recently was a speaker at the 40th Annual Association for Healthcare
Volunteer Resource Professionals Annual Meeting/Leadership Conference and Trade
Show where she presented “Focusing on the Health Benefits of Volunteering as a
Recruitment Strategy.”
She cited several studies that found volunteering had a positive impact on health, and
she uses that information to recruit volunteers at St. Mary’s.
A published author on the topic of volunteerism in health care, Swinson also has been
selected as co-chair for the 2009 Conference for Healthcare Resource Professionals.
(Kathy Atchison)
Judy Looman Swinson, during her presentation at the 40th Annual Association for Healthcare
Volunteer Resource Professionals Annual Meeting/Leadership Conference and Trade Show.
Oklahoma
Hospital Goes the
Extra 100 Miles for
Breast Health
OKLAHOMA CITY — Mammography Days began as a program to encourage working
women in the Oklahoma City area to receive mammograms (see story on page 6).
On Nov. 18, the program will expand to rural Oklahoma.
On that day, the St. Anthony Breast Center will send a motor coach to Cordell Memorial
Hospital in Cordell, Okla. — 100 miles west of Oklahoma City. The coach will pick up women
from Washita County and transport them to the breast center.
There the women will receive mammograms, health screenings and some pampering
that includes free salon services, and even a cut and color for a small fee. Most
importantly, they will receive their mammogram results and be scheduled for any
follow-up testing that may be required before the coach takes them back to Cordell.
Better Business Award to
SSM Health Care of Oklahoma
OKLAHOMA CITY — SSM Health Care of Oklahoma has received “The Better
Business Bureau Torch Award for Customer Service and Ethics in the Marketplace.”
The number of complaints received by businesses or organizations was part of
the criteria considered for the award.
On its Web site, the Better Business Bureau of Central Oklahoma noted the
following: “Hospitals and medical institutions seem to collect a lot of complaints
at Better Business Bureau offices concerning their billing practices. Happily,
SSM Health Care of Oklahoma has been completely free from complaints for
as long as the BBB’s computers can remember.” (Sheradee Hurst)
People
APPOINTMENTS
Shasta Manuel joins SSM Health
Care of Oklahoma as its executive
director of network finance.
Dr. Janet Spradlin, psychologist
at St. Anthony Hospital, has been
named the south central affiliate
regional president of the American
Heart Association.
Dr. Paul Wright of St. Anthony
Hospital, was appointed president of the
Oklahoma Academy of Family Physicians.
Fall 2008
SSM Health Care

— Our Bimonthly Publication for Employees, Physicians and Friends 11
Wisconsin
St. Mary’s Buys Local
MADISON — Food and
nutrition services employees
at St. Mary’s Hospital have
been shucking corn. That’s
because St. Mary’s became
the first hospital in Madison
to offer locally grown produce
in its cafeteria.
Fresh fruits and vegetables
— all supplied by a co-op of
Wisconsin farmers — are delivered
to the hospital within 24 hours
of harvest.
“We knew people were
looking for some local food
options and we’re happy we’ve
found a way to make it work,”
said Sue Liebenstein, director
of food and nutrition services.
An added environmental
bonus — because the produce
is locally grown — less fossil fuel
is required to transport it.
Passion for Writing Supports Sick Babies
People
Honors
St. Clare Hospital &
Health Services received
an award from the American
Hospital Association, recognizing
the hospital’s 50-year membership
in the organization.
St. Mary’s Hospital volunteer
knitters and crocheters
received the Wisconsin Hospital
Association 2008 Wisconsin
Award for Volunteer Excellence.
APPOINTMENTS
Kevin Grohskopf is
the new director of marketing
& community relations for
St. Clare Hospital and
Health Services.
ER Physicians Impress Patients
MADISON — Emergency rooms are often tested and judged
by their turnaround time, and St. Mary’s Hospital ER physicians
are meeting the challenge, according to the latest Press Ganey
patient satisfaction scores. The 23 members of Madison
Emergency Physicians who serve St. Mary’s scored in the 93rd
percentile — a new high. “As a group, we’ve been steadily improving
in the last two years,” says Dr. Kyle Martin, medical director of
St. Mary’s emergency services. He adds that two physicians’
individual scores have been at or above the 90th percentile for
each of the last three quarters.
Among the changes for the emergency room’s 34,000 patients
each year have been more staff coverage and an emphasis on getting
patients to a room as quickly as possible. “They don’t stop in registration,
have a prolonged time in triage, or experience other time-wasters prior
to getting to a room,” Martin says. “They can have their evaluation
begun by a physician as quickly as possible.” (Kelly Cheramy)
MADISON — A budding author of children’s books has more than fame on her young mind.
Kara Grajkowski, 9, wants to sell her books to support another passion:
fragile newborns at St. Mary’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU).
“I want to help the little babies that are born sick,” says Kara, who is donating
all the proceeds from her book sales to St. Mary’s. With five books to her credit,
she has raised more than $300 toward her $1,000 goal.
Kara has also had a crash course in business. She recruited
her great-grandmother as publisher, created her own Web site
(karastories.com) and negotiated retail outlets for her books
(including St. Mary’s Hospital Gift Shop).
Inspired by a recent tour of the hospital, where she herself was
born, Kara is also writing a book about St. Mary’s. (Kelly Cheramy)
Nine-year-old author Kara Grajkowski.
A Happy Reunion
MADISON — A reunion of 500 children
who had been cared for in St. Mary’s Neonatal Intensive
Care Unit celebrated life and good health as St. Mary’s marked
the 40th anniversary of its NICU. Since 1968, St. Mary’s has
served nearly 16,000 premature or ill newborns from all over
south-central Wisconsin. Today, St. Mary’s provides more than
400 fragile newborns each year with loving and life-saving care.
Volunteers Win Award from
Wisconsin Hospital Association
MADISON — On Sept. 18, the St. Mary’s Hospital volunteer
knitters and crocheters received the Wisconsin Hospital
Association 2008 Wisconsin Award for Volunteer Excellence.
The award recognizes the outstanding contributions of volunteer
programs. In 2007, the knitters and crocheters at St. Mary’s
produced 400 prayer shawls and lap robes for patients and family
members, as well as nearly 5,000 baby caps for newborns.
While some of the volunteers meet regularly at the hospital,
the program also includes home-bound volunteers and one other
unique group of knitters and crocheters — nine prisoners at a
Wisconsin correctional institution also produce shawls and lap
robes for St. Mary’s.
Kristen Peterson and her daughter, Morgan, a former NICU patient at
St. Mary’s, examine an isolette.
SSM Health Care Fall 2008

12 — Our Bimonthly Publication for Employees, Physicians and Friends
Physician Helped Hatfields in
Midst of 1900s Feud with McCoys
By Eric Clark
This story was told by Dr. James Whittico, Jr., to Eric Clark,
public relations director at SSM St. Mary’s Health Center, Richmond Heights, Mo.
Dr. Whittico, who is now 91, served at St. Mary’s for many years and was
president of the medical staff. He still maintains a part-time private practice.
The story is about his father: Dr. James Malachi Whittico.
An Unlikely Hero
Many know about the McCoys’ and
Hatfields’ legendary family feud, but only
a few close to the Appalachian Mountains
of West Virginia know of the role James
Malachi Whittico, a descendant of a freed
slave, played during the epic battle. It was
the early 1900s, a time when few would
dare venture up the untamed mountains.
On this summer’s day, the excruciating
Dr. James Whittico, Jr.
cries of a woman in labor would pierce
the air. The Hatfield matriarch was about to give birth.
Papa Hatfield, a stubborn, overbearing man, told his two sons to
fetch the doctor. They quickly scurried down the mountainside to town
only to find that the local white doctor was out of town. Undaunted and
knowing the consequences of returning without the physician, the boys
solicited the services of Dr. Whittico – the town’s only black doctor.
Dr. Whittico, a second generation medical school graduate,
husband, and part-time pistol-packing preacher, begrudgingly
took the assignment, knowing Hatfield’s disdain for men of color.
Nonetheless, up the mountainside they went. As the reluctant trio
approached the Hatfield property, the sun began to set and it started
getting dark. As the shadowy figures approached the Hatfield house,
old man Hatfield called out in Virginia drawl, “Did ya’ll git Dr.
Thomas” The sons returned a quivering reply. “He was gon’, Pa, but
we got another docta’.” Astonished by their resourcefulness, Hatfield
shouted from the front porch, “Well, who did you git, dag nabbit.”
By then the trio had come into view. “We got Dr. Whittico,” they
said in unison. Without hesitation, Hatfield sprang from his porch rocker
after his shotgun with the boys in hot pursuit. They caught him before
he reached the rifle and tied him to a tree while Dr. Whittico did his
job. Kicking and screaming every expletive in his verbal arsenal, the
elder Hatfield vehemently objected to the very thought of a black man
delivering his baby.
Moments later, the night’s silence was disturbed by the shrill of a
tiny cry. “You have a brand-new, healthy baby boy,” shouted one of
the midwives. Overcome with joy at the sight of the baby, Hatfield’s
venomous tirade all but dissipated and was replaced by tears of joy.
Amid the smell of freshly brewed moonshine, Hatfield showed his
appreciation to Dr. Whittico by loading up his horses with as many
chickens, salt pork, dry goods and grain as they could carry. He then
ordered the boys to escort him safely back home. From that day
forward, the two would be friends for life.
The Hatfields
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