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WASHINGTON
POST PRAISES SSM AS "A BEACON FOR BETTER HEALTH CARE"
SISTER
MARY JEAN RYAN
CEO, SSM |
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One week after the presentation of this year’s Malcolm Baldridge
National Quality Award winners, The Washington Post published
a column by nationally-syndicated David S. Broder who was singing
the praises of the first health care organization to earn the honor.
Though one of many stories on St. Louis-based SSM Health Care, Broder’s
April 9th story gave national attention to this award recipient
and detailed SSM’s journey to measuring “exceptional” care.
In a story that scolds members of Congress for not paying more attention
to the winners and the conference held in conjunction with the awards,
Broder cites the experiences of Baldridge winners such as SSM as
more likely to bring out improvements in human services than legislated
mandates. Participants in the national quality award program must
show meticulous and continuing efforts to improve the quality of
their products and services.
In her talk at the conference, Sister Mary Jean Ryan, SSM CEO is
quoted, “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 achieve 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 has ever been done before. The nation deserves no
less.”
Broder continued, “SSM is proving that good medicine is also an
economic asset. Its market share is rising, and, in contrast to
many hospitals, it is operating in the black, while delivering millions
of dollars worth of charity and uncompensated care.”
WIRED LISTS MONSANTO AS COMPANY
"RESHAPING GLOBAL ECONOMY"
Monsanto Co. was the only St. Louis-based company named by Wired
Magazine among “40 companies reshaping the global economy.”
The ranking, which appeared in the magazine’s July issue, was based
on innovation, technology, strategic vision, global reach and networked
communication.
“These 40 companies each demonstrate the attributes within their
respective industries that will define success in the next era of
business,” says Chris Anderson, editor in chief.
Monsanto ranks 32 on the list, holding the potential for genetically
modified crops producing “healthier food at a lower cost.” Wired
notes Monsanto will need to “innovate in diplomacy as it has in
agriculture” to move ahead of the obstacles coming from the public
debate on GM crops.
The list also appears at www.wired.com/wired/archive/wired40.
CHICAGO MUSIC CRITIC NOTES "OPERA
THEATRE OF ST. LOUIS STANDS OUT IN A WORLD OF SERVICE CUTBACKS"
Following the annual conference of Opera America, presented in St.
Louis during mid-June, Chicago Tribune music critic John
von Rhein noted the “Economy has opera companies singing the blues.”
In his story from the June 25, 2003 edition, von Rhein noted, “To
keep the most expensive of the performing arts alive in a slumping
economy, opera companies are cutting services, staff and productions,
dipping into cash reserves and adjusting their budgets for lean
years ahead.”
He wrote that some opera companies are finding new ways to make
opera touch the heart of the communities they serve. “It seemed
like poetic justice that the Opera Theatre of St. Louis, which hosted
the gathering, has achieved that very thing.”
Von Rhein believes the Opera Theatre has become standard-bearer
among regional opera companies for nearly three decades by “giving
its audience what it wants without diluting the artistic product.”
This is achieved by presenting its repertory in the language of
its listeners and the intimacy of the 987-seat Loretto-Hilton Center.
In an interview for the story, Charles MacKay, the Opera Theatre’s
general director, explained, “A lot of our success has to do with
the smaller scale of our operation, which makes for a much diminished
risk factor.”
His review of the company’s 28th season included praise for all
four works, which “were discerningly cast and solidly produced.”
USA TODAY SURVEYED OLIN SCHOOL CLASS
OF '98 FOR STORY ON IMPACT OF ECONOMY
How has the economic turmoil of the past five years affected the
80,000 MBA grads of 1998, a class that rightly thought of itself
as a sure thing, on their way to professional and financial success?
According to a June 6, 2003 story in USA TODAY, the Class
of ’98 “has changed their measure of success.”
With assistance from the John M. Olin School of Business at Washington
University, USA TODAY contacted half of the 142 graduates
of the master’s of business administration program. The story notes
that the job market for MBAs was so strong five years ago that more
than 90 percent had job offers before graduation; and among those
surveyed from Olin, 45 of 70 received signing bonuses.
Since then, 14 lost jobs due to layoffs. At the time of publication,
10 of the 14 were working again, and two decided to take time off
from work to raise children. According to the report, about half
of the students surveyed still owed on student loans.
The story, “Economy fell on Class of ’98,” focuses on the idea of
lost fortunes, even the writers admit the survey uncovered far more
“wounded egos than tales of desperation.” Many of Olin’s MBA grads
remained successful, with a few reporting larger salaries since
graduation. Largely, though, working after grad school has presented
hard lessons, with even the successful admitting that “they would
be doing better had the economy not abruptly soured 18 months after
graduation.”
Still, the USA TODAY report found only one Olin MBA student
from 1998 who regretted having gotten a graduate degree for personal
reasons, not so much the expense or time commitment.
“It’s enormously flattering having people chasing after you, bidding
for your services. It gives you a tremendous sense of self-importance,”
Olin School Dean Stuart Greenbaum told USA TODAY. “The Class
of ’98 is an object lesson in humility.”
BIOBELT CAPTURES ATTENTION OF LIFESCIENCE
INDUSTRY LEADERS, MEDIA AT BIO 2003 CONFERENCE IN WASHINGTON
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President
Bush addressed this year’s BIO meeting. |
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An 80-plus member St. Louis delegation participated in the Biotechnology
Industry Organization (BIO) 2003 International Conference and Exhibition
in Washington, D.C. St. Louis’ delegation included representatives
from regional and statewide economic development partners as well
as area plant and life sciences companies.
This team marketed St. Louis, the BioBelt, to more than 20,000 visiting
industry leaders during the four-day conference. This event marked
the debut of newly designed marketing materials. The thrust is placing
St. Louis at “The Center of Plant and Life Sciences.”
The national media picked up the message, shared at the Conference
and at the RCGA’s exhibit, as well. Coverage of St. Louis from the
D.C. BIO Conference included: CBS MarketWatch; The Charlotte
Observer; The Dallas Morning News; Finance Canada;
German financial publication Finanz Nachrichten; and Bio
IT World.
S.M. WILSON RANKED IN LISTING OF LARGEST
CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT AT-RISK FIRMS
S.M. Wilson & Co. is the 88th largest construction management at-risk
firm in the U.S. for 2002, according to the June 16, 2003 edition
of industry trade publication Engineering News-Record (ENR).
The company recorded $131.6 million in commercial construction management
at-risk revenues last year, up from $86.3 million in 2001.
ENR defines construction management at-risk as construction
projects or programs where the firm is exposed to financial responsibilities
and risks similar to those of a general contractor. The publication
notes that owners, particularly local and state public agencies
and school districts, are increasingly looking to shift more of
the financial risk of their construction projects away from their
organizations.
The largest construction management at-risk projects handled by
S.M. Wilson in 2002 include the new Senior Living Facility at the
Jewish Center For Aged, the renovation and expansion at Whitfield
School, the new Target store in Richardson, Texas, and the Olde
Town Plaza in Ballwin. S.M. Wilson currently has 41 construction
management at-risk projects underway.
ST. LOUIS AMONG CASE STUDIES IN BROOKINGS
REPORT ON FINANCING COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
St. Louis is among three community case studies published in a recent
Brookings report. Released in May 2003, The Brookings
Institution’s report on Civic Infrastructure and the Financing
of Community Development, examines the relationships between public,
for-profit and non-profit community development organizations and
how this affects financing urban neighborhood projects.
Though St. Louis has few “community development corporations (CDCs),”
according to the Report, “there is a large amount of non-profit
participation.” In writing the executive summary, William Bogart
notes, “The strength and diversity of non-profit community development
organizations heavily influence how community development projects
are funded and to what extent private sector financial institutions
participate.”
The Brookings report concludes this spending in St. Louis
is not well coordinated, because the area is lacking a strong network
of CDCs, or “development-focused foundations.”
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