In honor of its 140 year anniversary of helping those in need, SSM Health Care – St. Louis hosted a food drive November 5-16, 2012 to celebrate its Heritage Week. Instead of donating canned goods and other items, employees were asked to give just $5 to represent the five founding sisters. The donations were used to purchase high-demand food items identified by the St. Louis Area Foodbank. The effort raised $8,400, which helped provide an equivalent of more than 1,600 bags of groceries for the Foodbank.
Just in time for the holidays, SSM Health Care and Sodexo employees were on hand December 6, 2012 at SSM St. Clare Health Center to load the donated groceries onto a St. Louis Area Foodbank truck. Those items will then be distributed to hungry families throughout the bi-state region.
Heritage Week is celebrated at SSM Health Care entities as a reminder of the mission and heritage of healing. Mother Odilia, along with four nuns, left Germany and arrived in St. Louis 140 years ago on November 16, 1872. They arrived during an ice storm and an outbreak of smallpox. Immediately, they began caring for the sick, feeding the poor and taking in orphans. Today, SSM Health Care continues the tradition of caring for those in need and exemplifies the mission: Through our exceptional health care services, we reveal the healing presence of God. This commitment to care is prevalent not only through the care given to the sick, but also to the entire St. Louis community.
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About the St. Louis Area Foodbank
The St. Louis Area Foodbank began its service to the community in 1975. Today, we continue to be an organization that relies on the generosity of others to make a difference in the lives of those in need of food assistance. Since that time, we've grown to become the bi-state region’s largest non-profit 501(c)(3) food distribution center dedicated to feeding those in need. Through our network of more than 500 partner agencies, we distributed more than 25 million pounds of food in FY2012. For more information, visit www.stlfoodbank.org.
About SSM Health Care – St. Louis
SSM Health Care – St. Louis’ mission statement — “Through our exceptional health care services, we reveal the healing presence of God” — is embodied by 11,000 employees and 2,500 staff physicians. Sponsored by the Franciscan Sisters of Mary, the health care network offers comprehensive health care services, but specializes in heart, cancer, neurosciences, orthopedics, pediatrics, weight-loss, sleep, imaging, behavioral health and fetal surgery. A winner of the Missouri Quality Award and multiple Best Places to Work awards, SSM Health Care – St. Louis includes seven hospitals ― Cardinal Glennon Children’s Medical Center, DePaul Health Center, St. Clare Health Center, St. Joseph Health Center, St. Joseph Health Center – Wentzville, St. Joseph Hospital West and St. Mary’s Health Center ― St. Joseph Medical Park, plus a Managed Care Organization, and SSM Medical Group. Go to www.ssmhealth.com for more information.