Our Commitment to Diversity

A Diverse Population 

Our Patients

SSM Health is dedicated to serving all patients who enter our doors regardless of race, religion, age, sexual orientation, veteran status, disability, national origin, or gender.

We want every single person who walks through our doors to feel comfortable while in our care. Likewise, we embrace diversity in our workforce. You’ll find physicians, nursing staff, health professionals, administrative and support staff from many races, many cultures, and many backgrounds, all of whom have a single focus -- providing you with exceptional care.

Our Workforce

SSM Health employees work full-time, part-time, occasionally, and by contract, meeting both theirs and the system’s needs for flexibility to accommodate changing patient volumes. Ongoing flexible scheduling, cross-training and occasional staffing keeps our workforce ready and able to adapt to the needs of the organization and our patients.

At SSM Health, we offer a unique work environment. This is due largely to our mission statement: Through our exceptional health care services, we reveal the healing presence of God. That statement -- crafted by 3,000 employees at every level of our organization -- was inspired by our founding religious sisters and defines the way we do things. Because those words come from employees, we embrace the mission as our own.

Our Suppliers

SSM Health is committed to equal opportunity for its employees and business vendors. Our Minority Business Enterprise (MBE) program encourages and supports purchasing goods and services from businesses owned by minorities, women, disabled individuals, disabled veterans, and small business enterprises.

Each SSM Health entity commits to a 10% discretionary spending goal as part of our MBE program. Supplier diversity is consistent with our values of compassion, respect, excellence, stewardship and community. It is the expectation that all goods and services acquired from any business will meet the requirements related to value, quality and timeliness.

Our Communities

At SSM Health, we support and form alliances with organizations whose missions call for rigorous pursuit of fairness and equality for all people.

Some of the organizations we support include:

• A WORLD OF DIFFERENCE® Institute
• Anti-Defamation League (ADL)
• Guardian Angel Settlement Association
• INROADS
• National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)
• National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO)
• National Black MBA Association®
• National Conference for Community and Justice
• St. Louis Diversity Initiative
• St. Louis Internship Program
• St. Louis Minority Business Council
• The St. Louis American
• United Way

It is the policy of SSM Health to provide equal opportunity for all persons and to prevent discrimination and harassment on the basis of: race, color, national or ethnic origin, ancestry, religion, religious background, sex marital status, pregnancy, physical or mental disability, age, sexual orientation, veteran status, current or past military status, citizenship, genetic makeup, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law and/or our mission and values.

This policy relates to all aspects of employment, including recruitment and selection, training, promotion, job classification, staff development, supervision, transfers, compensation, discipline, assignments, layoff and terminations.

In addition to adhering to appropriate federal, state and local law, SSM Health’s values, which are central to its health mission, call for rigorous pursuit of fairness and equality in employment; and business practices with sensitivity to persons and business owners who have traditionally been disadvantaged.

The responsibility of this policy extends to all managers, employees, and business partners/vendors. SSM Health’s commitment to Equal Opportunity is incorporated into the code of conduct for all managers and employees. Disciplinary action may be taken against those managers or employees who are found to have discriminated against or harassed other managers or employees or our patients or clients.

The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. once said:

“Cowardice asks the question, ‘Is it safe?’ Expediency asks the question, ‘Is it politic?’ Vanity asks the question, ‘Is it popular?’ But conscience asks the question, ‘Is it right?’… And there comes a time when a person must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular, but because their conscience says that it is right.”

At SSM Health, we follow the path inspired by our founding sisters. When they landed in St. Louis in 1872, the sisters had just five dollars between them. Yet, the sisters tended to the sick regardless of whether they could pay for that care.

In 1933, when this country’s lunch counters refused to serve blacks, the sisters opened the first Catholic hospital for treating African Americans. That same hospital trained African American doctors and nurses. And, when our nation’s schools were segregated, our sisters operated a hospital in rural Dillon, S.C., and refused to recognize the schools’ stance on separation. 

By day, there were two nurseries in our hospitals: one for black newborns and another for white newborns. Our sisters were practical women, though. So, at night when staffing was reduced, they put all of the babies together. And guess what? The babies slept just fine.

For SSM Health, diversity is both a moral and business imperative. In other words, it’s the right thing to do. If we serve diverse communities — and we do — then we must reflect that diversity in our operations. We believe our hospitals and patients are better off for having people of different races, ethnicities and experiences working together to deliver exceptional health care day in and day out.

At SSM Health, doing the right thing will always be a part of our consciousness.

Sister Mary Jean Ryan, FSM
First CEO of SSM Health

1872 - The Beginning

Led by Mother Mary Odilia Berger, five German nuns arrived in St. Louis on November 16, 1872, in search of religious freedom, on a mission to do God’s work. The sisters believed that, with God’s help, everything was possible. When they arrived, they had just $5 among them. Together, they carried the faith and compassion that ultimately would lead to SSM Health.

1894

Sister Mary Augustine Giesen and six other sisters left the congregation and traveled to Maryville, Mo., where they formed a separate religious congregation, the Sisters of St. Francis of Maryville, Mo. (OSF). While the Sisters of St. Mary worked largely in the St. Louis urban area, the Sisters of St. Francis worked in more rural areas. In 1898, following their work in Maryville, they established St. Anthony Hospital, the first hospital in the Oklahoma territory.

1933

St. Mary’s Infirmary in St. Louis was rededicated as the first Catholic hospital for African Americans in the nation. It became one of the first hospitals to give privileges to African American physicians and to provide opportunities for African American nurses to practice their profession.

In the days of segregation, SSM Health ran a small, rural hospital in Dillon, S.C. In this hospital we had two nurseries - one for our black babies and another for our white babies. The separate nurseries reflected the times. Still our sisters were practical women. So at night, when the hospital reduced its staff, the sisters placed the black babies and the white babies in the same nursery. And guess what? The babies slept just fine.

1990

SSM Health started tracking its diversity efforts to increase the number of women in leadership roles. By using quantitative measurement, aggressive recruitment efforts and internal coaching and mentoring of women, we increased the number of women in leadership roles from 37 to 50%.

1998

SSM Health appointed a diversity officer to lead its diversity efforts. After analyzing the demographics of the communities we serve, we also created a formal strategic diversity plan:

• Enhance our ability to meet the needs of diverse patients and customers.
• Improve support and alliances with organizations whose missions call for rigorous pursuit of fairness and equality for all people.
• Improve a work environment that rewards and recognizes excellence and attracts and retains the best people regardless of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, age, national origin, veteran status or disability.
• Increase business partnerships with minority and women suppliers.

2000

SSM Health created the Diversity Forum to enhance leadership skills and the career development of persons of color, different ethnic backgrounds and persons with disabilities. The Diversity Forum met to address challenges faced by employees of color, different ethnicities and persons with disabilities in professional and managerial roles. Members of the Diversity Forum also explored common workplace experiences, served as mentors, promoted and represented SSM Health in the community to increase a diverse patient and employee population. Finally, the Diversity Forum promoted the strength of differences and fully integrated the talents of all people to achieve our strategic goals.

We launched a pilot Diversity Mentoring Program. The mentoring program had two main purposes: to increase the number of people of color, of different ethnicity, or with disabilities, in the system’s professional and managerial ranks and to prepare these minority professionals and managers for upward mobility by pairing them with executive leaders. At SSM Health, everyone is seen as a leader possessing the potential to help the organization achieve great things. The mentoring program was designed to tap this potential. It created a support system to help provide opportunities to minority employees. When the pilot program concluded, participants told us they wanted another development program and urged us to continue to offer opportunities for professional and personal growth. Their feedback led to the next stop in our diversity journey, the Diversity Development Association.

2004 - 2006

The Diversity Development Association, a management training program, was created for members of groups that have traditionally been denied development opportunities due to bias and discrimination. This two-year initiative resulted in the creation of a pool of diverse SSM Health employees trained in the skills necessary for management and leadership. More importantly, it positioned participants for upward mobility and development and equipped them with the tools necessary to succeed at the next level of their respective careers. The DDA ended because leadership development of all employees transitioned to the newly created SSM University which facilitates the development of leadership throughout the system.

2005

The Diversity Advisory Council was formed to advise SSM Health on the development and implementation of projects and activities to assist in meeting and/or exceeding our diversity strategic goals. The council also helps to exchange best practices information within the system to promote diversity and to provide exceptional health care services. The DAC was comprised of one delegate from each region and designated standalone entity of SSM Health. The diverse group of employees from various pay grades and professions throughout the organization acted as a “diversity congress” and served to support the mission, values and commitment to diversity.

To help our entities meet the established diversity goals, SSM Health created and introduced a new measurement tool, the Diversity Scorecard. The Diversity Scorecard brings all information together, challenges SSM Health entities to improve, and maintains diversity as a high priority issue. In addition to monitoring and measuring, we use the scorecard metrics to benchmark our diversity progress against internal and external efforts. The benchmarks enabled us to find best practices and develop new actions as needed to continuously initiate diversity improvements at each entity and throughout the system.

2006

We established SSM University, an educational program designed to develop leadership at all levels of the organization. SSM University aims to help the system achieve its mission of exceptional health care services by helping to develop leadership throughout the organization. SSM University offers a wide range of programs, including leadership education for executives and new supervisors, continuing education for middle managers, as well as coaching programs. For entry-level employees, SSM University offers skills to help them grow and move into advanced positions.

2007

SSM Health adopted policies and developed programs that foster diversity in the workforce. For instance, we started a program that encourages older workers to stay on after retirement under our nationally-recognized phased-retirement program. About 135 older workers did just that in 2007. We recognized traditional and non-traditional households by offering insurance for a legally-domiciled adult. In 2007, we were also named one of the top adoption-friendly employers in the country by the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption.

2009

SSM Health was listed among the top 25 diversity councils in the country by the Florida-based Association of Diversity Councils, affiliated with PRISM International. The association recognizes best practices among US councils who are partners in driving a strategic diversity process within their organizations. We were also presented with HRMA’s 2009 Diversity Leader Award. Award criteria includes leadership commitment, education, alignment, dynamic, engagement, and results measurement. The association is an affiliate of the international Society of Human Resource Management.

2010 - And Beyond

SSM Health’s 2010 annual diversity report marked a decade of reporting out to employees the many ways we celebrate diversity - not only in hiring and developing employees and managers but also in the way we work and collaborate with one another to provide exceptional care to our many patients. For SSM Health, diversity is both a moral and business imperative. If we serve diverse communities - and we do - then we must reflect that diversity. Our hospitals and patients are better off for having people of different races, ethnicities and experiences brought together to deliver exceptional health care day in and day out.