History of Diversity

SSM Health’s history and our values are born out of a mission that promotes diversity and inclusion. In 1872, our founding sisters immigrated from Germany in search of religious freedom with a mission to do God’s healing work. They arrived in St. Louis with $5 among them, but they were committed to providing care for anyone who needed it, regardless of their race, ethnicity, gender, or social stature.

Their spirit and dedication to care for all, in God’s name, have carried us through more than a century of healing. During times of segregation, SSM Health opened the first Catholic hospital for African Americans in the nation. This hospital later 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. We have been on the forefront of advancing diversity in our workforce ever since.

Today, SSM Health’s system-wide diversity initiatives strengthen our commitment to fair hiring practices and ensure equal opportunities for career advancement through training and education programs that allow all our employees and staff to pursue their professional growth and career fulfillment.

At SSM Health, 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 for 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 various races, ethnicities, and experiences brought together to deliver exceptional health care day in and day out.