SSM Health Care to begin layoffs [St. Louis Post-Dispatch]

Oct. 08--SSM Health Care, a St. Louis-based nonprofit hospital system that has fallen under increasing financial pressure, is preparing to lay off a number of employees.

"We're making announcements this week to our employees," Kristen Johnson, a spokeswoman for SSM's St. Louis-based subsidiary, said Tuesday when asked about the staff reductions. "There's nothing more we can say. ... Out of respect for those affected, we can't really discuss the details until we've had a chance to share these organizational changes with our staff."

SSM's layoffs come at a time when other health care organizations, including St. Louis-based BJC HealthCare, have trimmed their staffs in part because of reduced government reimbursements for Medicare and Medicaid services.

Johnson said that no further details about the number, scope or necessity of SSM's layoffs will be made public until later this week.

SSM, which operates in Missouri, Illinois, Oklahoma and Wisconsin, has about 8,500 nurses and more than 7,000 employed and affiliated physicians.

According to SSM's website, the Catholic-sponsored system includes 18 hospitals, two nursing homes, more than 150 outpatient sites, a pharmacy benefit manager, an insurance plan, home care, hospice, a technology company, and an accountable care organization.

In 2012, SSM had total operating revenue of about $3.3 billion, according to its consolidated financial statements.

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