SSM Health Care to begin layoffs

SSM Health Care, a St. Louis-based nonprofit hospital system that has fallen under increasing financial pressure, is preparing to lay off a number of employees. "We're making announcements this week to our employees," Kristen Johnson, a spokeswoman for SSM's St. Louis-based subsidiary, said Tuesday when asked about the staff reductions. "There's nothing more we can say... Out of respect for those affected, we can't really discuss the details until we've had a chance to share these organizational changes with our staff." SSM's layoffs come at a time when other health care organizations, including St. Louis-based BJC HealthCare, have trimmed their staffs in part because of reduced government reimbursements for Medicare and Medicaid services.