What does it mean to be a nonprofit hospital system?
As a nonprofit organization, SSM Health Care exists to provide health care for the communities we serve.  As such, any profit we receive is funneled back into our facilities to improve the care we provide and the health and quality of life for the people who come to us for care. Our motivation is to serve people, as opposed to providing profit to shareholders.

How does being a nonprofit hospital system fit into SSM Health Care’s mission?
Our founding religious sisters came to America in 1872 to care for sick people. From those earliest days, SSM Health Care has responded to the health-care needs of people in our communities. We have been in many of our communities for 100 years or more – during good times and bad. Our mission is to provide exceptional health care services to the people we serve.

Does SSM Health Care pay taxes?
Our tax status is set by the Internal Revenue Service and other taxing authorities. We pay some taxes and are exempt from others.

How can SSM Health Care be nonprofit and make a profit?
To serve our communities over the long-term, we must be financially sound. Any organization that does not earn revenues in excess of its costs will be unable to stay in business. We make money to cover our costs of doing business – to pay our employees fair wages and benefits, to keep safe and well-maintained buildings, and to purchase new medical technologies that benefit and improve the health of people in our communities. Any profit we realize goes into improved programs, services and technology so we can better serve our communities.

What does It Mean to be Nonprofit?
At SSM Health Care, we occasionally get questions on being nonprofit and what it means for our operations. You can listen to Senior Vice President-Finance Kris Zimmer talk about how being a nonprofit fits into our mission on one of our online Up Close features. (Running time: 3:48)

Posted 7/10/08