June, 2003, St. Louis--SSM Health Care-St. Louis has been named the “2003 Institution of the Year” by the St. Louis Minority Business Council (SLMBC). The announcement was made and the award presented at the SLMBC’s annual gala in June.       The SLMBC specifically recognized SSM Health Care-St. Louis for allocating more than $2.6 million in contracts to 90 certified MBEs (minority business entrepreneurs) in 2002.  The SLMBC cited SSM Health Care-St. Louis for making supplier diversity an integral reflection of SSM’s mission and core values.       The SSM Health Care-St. Louis Materiel Management department played a key role in earning the recognition.  Through business practices instituted by Materiel Management, SSM Health Care-St. Louis significantly improved its ability to attract and support suppliers from diverse cultures and backgrounds.  Materiel Management also expanded opportunities for MBEs into non-traditional areas of goods and services.         “Our organizational commitment to supplier diversity has allowed us to cultivate new relationships and build corporate goodwill in our community, as our mission calls us to do,” noted SSMHC-St. Louis President/CEO Ron Levy.       SLMBC was formed 30 years ago, with a goal “to create a climate in the business community that will make purchasing from minority firms a normal corporate practice.” SSM Health Care-St. Louis was recognized at the previous year’s SLMBC gala with the “Star Award” for “significantly enhancing the utilization of minority business.”