[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 81 (Wednesday, June 4, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1123-E1124]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  SSM HEALTH CARE IS FIRST HEALTH CARE FIRM IN NATION TO WIN MALCOLM 
                    BALDRIGE NATIONAL QUALITY AWARD

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. WM. LACY CLAY

                              of missouri

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, June 4, 2003

  Mr. CLAY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor SSM Health Care, the 
first health care organization in the country to be named a Malcolm 
Baldrige National Quality Award winner.
  As a 2002 award recipient of the prestigious award, SSM was recently 
honored, along with two other recipients--Motorola, for manufacturing; 
and Branch-Smith Printing Division, for small business--during a 
ceremony in Alexandria, VA in May, 2003.
  Named for the late Commerce Secretary in the Reagan Cabinet, the 
award is given by the U.S. Department of Commerce and as you know, is 
the top honor a U.S. company can receive for quality management and 
quality achievement in the categories of manufacturing, service, small 
business, education and health care.
  Normally presented by the President of the United States, this year 
Vice President Dick Cheney did the honors.
  In a message from President George W. Bush, the Chief Executive said: 
``As we embrace new opportunities and face new challenges, these 
organizations are setting an example of quality and excellence that 
helps strengthen our Nation and points the way to a brighter, more 
prosperous future for all.''
  In his remarks, Secretary of Commerce Donald L. Evans noted that SSM, 
which is sponsored by the St. Louis-based Franciscan Sisters of Mary, 
is a role model of world-class excellence and has achieved 
extraordinary results.
  ``The men and women of this organization represent the highest 
ethical standards in public responsibility and corporate stewardship,'' 
Evans said. ``I am particularly pleased to join the President in 
announcing a first-time winner for health care. The three 2002 Baldrige 
Award winners are role models of world-class excellence, and they have 
achieved extraordinary results.''
  Dick Davidson, President of The Foundation for the Malcolm Baldrige 
National Quality Award, also joined in praise of SSM.
  ``The clearest path to success for any organization is the one that 
embraces quality principles and the continuous improvement that they 
can unlock,'' Davidson said. ``The Malcolm Baldrige National Quality 
Award highlights those organizations in business, health care and 
education that have followed this path and, in doing so, have set the 
standard for excellence in quality processes and results. The 
Foundation salutes the recipients of the 2002 Award and is pleased to 
continue its support of the Award.''
  Sister Mary Jean Ryan, President and CEO of SSM, and Sister 
Jacqueline Motzel, SSM Chairperson, received the award.
  Sister Ryan said: ``This Award is a wonderful recognition of the 
excellent performance of our employees and physicians and of their 
strong commitment to their mission--to reveal the healing presence of 
God through our exceptional health care services.''
  In competing for the award, SSM staff submitted a 50-page application 
and last October were subjected to comprehensive site visits at the 
corporate office and its facilities in four states. The visits took 
place at all hours of the day, and were meant to clarify and verify 
information included in the application.
  Baldrige examiners spoke with more than 800 employees and physicians, 
systemwide, and measured performance in seven areas: leadership, 
strategic planning, customer and market focus, information and 
analysis, human resources focus, process management and business 
results.

  An example of the SSM success model is its employees. Comprised of a 
workforce of 82 percent women employees, among the hospitals many 
achievements has been to reduce employee turnover from a rate of 21 
percent in 1999 to 13 percent in 2002.
  Mr. Speaker, I am especially proud of SSM Health Care for receiving 
this honor. A not-for-profit Catholic health care system, it provides 
primary, secondary and tertiary health care services by way of 21 acute 
care hospitals and three nursing homes in four states--Missouri, 
Illinois, Wisconsin and Oklahoma--which it owns or manages.
  Nearly 5000 affiliated physicians and 22,200 employees work together 
to provide a wide range of services, including: inpatient, outpatient, 
emergency, ambulatory, physician practices, residential and skilled 
nursing.
  The Foundation for the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award was 
created to provide the private sector a means of accomplishing better 
employee relations, higher productivity, greater customer satisfaction, 
increased market share and improved operating performance.
  As a recipient of this most prestigious award, SSM Health Care joins 
the company of other winners, including: Boeing Airlift and Tanker 
Programs, Merrill Lynch Credit Corp., Xerox Business Services, AT&T 
Consumer Communications Services, Eastman Chemical Co., the Ritz-
Carlton Hotel, Express Corp., Cadillac Motor Car Division, Motorola 
Inc., and Westinghouse Electric Corp.
  In addition to winning a Baldrige Award, SSM Health Care is also the 
2003 Missouri Industry of the Year, in the large company 
classification. That award, sponsored by the Associated Industries of 
Missouri and the Mid-Missouri Business Journal, annually recognizes the 
best and brightest Missouri businesses that are working to make 
Missouri a better place to live and work.
  Also, SSM Health Care was a Missouri Quality Award recipient in 1999.
  Through a series of 2003 Baldrige Sharing Dates--June 18, August 20, 
October 23 and December 18--the SSM staff is sharing its winning 
techniques with other executives from all industries to learn first-
hand from the top SSM leaders. I urge any organization on a quest for 
success to consider looking at the SSM Health Care model. It has proven 
its success, not only to its patients, its staff and St. Louis, but 
also to the nation.
  In an April 9 column by Washington Post reporter David S. Broder 
noted SSM's success,

[[Page E1124]]

something which ``Congress and the press were too busy with other 
things to notice.'' Calling SSM ``A Beacon for Better Health Care,'' 
Broder observed how SSM was proving that good medicine is also an 
economic asset and how Sister Ryan began as a nurse and rose into 
management.
  In his remarks, Broder offered this quote: ``We are living proof that 
health care in the United States is capable of improving, despite many 
predictions to the contrary. We are proof that large and complex health 
care organizations can push themselves to step out of their comfort 
zones to exceptional results. And the more of us that commit to 
performance excellence, the greater will be our ability to deliver 
health care breathtakingly better than it's ever been done before. The 
nation deserves no less.''
  ``Those words,'' Broder said, ``and the performance behind them, 
deserve more attention than Washington gave them last week.''
  Today, Mr. Speaker, let us add our voices to the celebration of a 
successful health care system. At a time when hospitals are closing in 
vast numbers and the high cost of malpractice insurance is causing many 
physicians to limit their practices, we have found a health care system 
that works. The choice is ours. We can heal the health care delivery 
problem in this nation or we can let it overwhelm and consume us, to 
the detriment of us all.
  SSM is a model for success. Today, in Congress, let us register a 
much-deserved celebration of that fact.

                          ____________________