2007 GREATER ST. LOUIS TOP 50 AWARDS: BJC HealthCare

St. Louis Commerce Magazine, Dec 2007 by Dalin, Shera

For the area's largest employer - BJC HealthCare - the art and practice of healing the sick has expanded into a commitment of keeping people healthy.

Founded in 1993, the 13-hospital health care provider was selected as the Corporate Citizenship winner, in part, for its economic commitment to the region, but also for its efforts to educate all residents, including those in some of the region's most economically challenged areas, about the importance of taking responsibility for improving their health.

With more than 24,000 employees in the metropolitan area and revenues of $2.9 billion, BJC is one of the largest nonprofit health care organizations in the United States. BJC facilities provide health care to the St. Louis area, mid-Missouri and southern Illinois regions and its services include inpatient and outpatient care, primary care, community health and wellness, workplace health, home health, community mental health, rehabilitation, long-term care and hospice.

The organization estimates that its payroll and $250 million in capital spending on renovations and other construction projects account for $1.62 billion in local economic impact annually.

A community benefit organization, BJC provides approximately $140 million in unreimbursed charity care for patients at its hospitals, and that figure has increased over the years because of the growing number of patients who are uninsured or underinsured. Recognizing that uninsured patients need better access to appropriate primary health care services, BJC invests substantial funds and time with organizations like the St. Louis Regional Health Commission and the Missouri Foundation for Health, to help improve the region's health care safety net.

"Being the largest employer comes with civic responsibilities. As a not-for-profit organization, we take seriously our responsibility to use our earnings for community benefit," says Steven H. Lipstein, president and CEO of BJC HealthCare.

"Health care is an exciting field right now," continues Lipstein. "There is so much more we know about your individual health than we ever have before. And we are committed to using this knowledge to do more for patients and our communities than we have ever been able to do before."

BJC announced in early fall that it would join Washington University School of Medicine to build the $235 million BJC Institute of Health at Washington University. The Institute will house cutting-edge medical research within five centers: diabetic-cardiovascular disease, cancer genomics, membrane excitability disorders (such as epilepsy), women's infectious diseases, and protein folding and neurodegeneration, which includes studying aging of the brain.

The 11-story building is scheduled to open in December 2009 adjacent to Barnes-Jewish Hospital.

"We have selected the five areas we think will have the greatest impact on human health," Lipstein says. "There are only a few places in the world that have the size and scope of BJC HealthCare and the research of Washington University. That combination of resources is unparalleled."

Universities across country have been criticized by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation for failing to work collaboratively with entrepreneurs to translate their scientists' work into treatments or inventions that could be commercialized, thus expediting the time from "laboratory bench to bedside." The BJC Institute of Health will take a large leap to bridge that gap and bring more scientific discoveries and processes to the marketplace.

Beyond the contributions BJC HealthCare is making to the body of medical research, Lipstein notes that the organization consistently contributes to the economic prosperity of the region. Besides being the area's largest employer, BJC attracts and retains a skilled workforce that helps bolster the financial vitality of the communities it serves. BJC has been a driving force in the revitalization of the City of St. Louis in general, and the Central West End in particular.

"We have taken a multipronged approach in attracting more people to work at BJC," Lipstein says.

One component of that approach is creating the BJC Center for Lifelong Learning that provides comprehensive on-site training for employees at all levels of the organization, tuition reimbursement for employees pursuing college degrees, and several innovative programs for employees who want to earn their GED and continue to enhance their skills.

"We are encouraging our employees to pursue additional education throughout their careers," he says.

BJC also operates the Missouri BaptistClinical Nursing Institute, which provides skill updates for nurses re-entering the workforce after a hiatus, and the 600-student Barnes-Jewish College of Nursing, which opened a new state-of-the-art facility in November.

Another element of employee education is the Health Education Institute at Alton Memorial Hospital. The Institute, which is under development, will provide clinical training for students in partnership with Lewis & Clark Community College and Southern Illinois University Edwardsville.