SSM Health Care Selects Ninth House, Inc. to Provide Essential Leadership and Management Expertise to Entire Organization

Business Wire, July 17, 2006

SAN FRANCISCO -- Leadership Development Company to Provide SSM Health Care's 24,000 Employees with Crucial Leadership, Management and Communication Skills for Exceptional Patient Care

Ninth House, Inc., the leadership and management development company, today announced that SSM Health Care has selected Ninth House Leadership Development Solutions and customized Instant Advice(R) modules for its leadership development program. SSM Health Care, a St. Louis-based not-for-profit system of hospitals and other health-related entities, selected Ninth House because its leadership development solutions specifically addressed the critical strategic thinking, planning and decision-making skills for cultivating leaders at all levels of the organization.

"Our mission is to provide exceptional health care services by helping to develop leadership throughout our organization," stated Richard Buck, MD, Executive Director of SSM University, SSM Health Care's system-wide educational initiative. "We selected Ninth House for its high-quality interactive courses, proven track record in leadership development and ability to train all levels of our organization -- not just our top executives. Ultimately, we believe that this will enable us to better serve our employees, patients and communities."

SSM Health Care provides a wide range of services, including acute care, rehabilitation, pediatrics, home health, hospice, residential and skilled nursing care. Ninth House's Blended Learning tool provides online learning combined with in-classroom instruction. SSM Health Care will use customized web-based Instant Advice modules from Ninth House, including video, text and quick reference tools.

"SSM Health Care's extraordinary patient care begins with the leadership abilities of its entire staff," said Jeff Snipes, Ninth House CEO and Co-founder. "We look forward to working with SSM Health Care in their continuing mission to better serve their patients. Ninth House Leadership Solutions and Instant Advice modules will greatly compliment the leadership that SSM Health Care has achieved in patient care."

About SSM Health Care

Sponsored by the Franciscan Sisters of Mary and based in St. Louis, MO, SSM Health Care (SSMHC) is one of the largest Catholic systems in the country. The system owns, manages and is affiliated with 20 acute care hospitals and two nursing homes in four states: Missouri, Illinois, Wisconsin and Oklahoma. Nearly 5,000 affiliated physicians and 24,000 employees work together to provide a wide range of services that are compassionate, holistic and of high quality. SSMHC health-related businesses include information systems, home care management and support services such as supply chain management and clinical engineering. SSMHC also owns an interest in Premier Medical Insurance Group Inc., one of Wisconsin's largest health maintenance organizations. SSM Health Care was the first health care organization to receive the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award.

About Ninth House

Ninth House, Inc. provides leadership development solutions that integrate content from leading business experts with self-paced online courses and practical simulations to more effectively develop leaders at all levels of an organization. The Ninth House curriculum addresses the most relevant issues an organization faces -- from leadership and innovation, to building community in the workplace, to managing change. Ninth House's leadership development solutions are easily scaleable, customized and deployed to a corporation's workforce based on business needs; thereby, providing organizations with rapid, measurable impact on employee behavioral change, while increasing productivity. Ninth House customers include nearly 200 global 2000 and government organizations such as Amazon.com, British Telecommunications, Hyperion Solutions Corporation, SSM Health Care, United States Navy, and United States Department of Justice.

Ninth House is headquartered in San Francisco, CA. For more information, please visit the Ninth House website at: www.ninthhouse.com, or call: 415-277-8200.

Ninth House(R) and Instant Advice(R) are registered trademarks of Ninth House, Inc.