Steven Burghart ‘98
President
SSM Health Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital
St. Louis, MO
“Through our excellent health care services, we reveal the healing presence of God.” So reads the mission statement for SSM Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital (SSM CGC) in St. Louis where President Steven Burghart '98 proclaims, "Unequivocally, what I enjoy most about my work is the opportunity to serve this mission.”
That opportunity involves overseeing a 195-bed, non-profit hospital, one of only two ever built by the Catholic Church as a stand-alone children’s hospital that functions as a mini-health care system focusing on comprehensive care and health services and serving as a safety net for the greater St. Louis area. With the institution more than 60 percent funded by Medicaid, Steven’s primary challenge is to “provide the highest quality of care to as many patients as we can within a more limited financing structure.” While the challenge is particularly acute in children’s health, Steven believes that “the pressure on real-time, cost effective and access to a very scarce pool of specialized providers has the potential to make our portion of health care a thought leader for this work.”
A native Houstonian, Steven was planning a career doing clinical research in molecular genetics. After witnessing the incredible impact the M.D. Anderson System had on his mother’s cancer treatment and learning about health care administration as a career choice from his undergraduate lab partner, Steven changed course.
"(Health care administration) resonated with me as it seemed to offer a more personal connection to the health system than a lab setting,” he says, “and offered more diverse interactions and impact on the community."
While still a senior at Baylor University, Steven made a cold call to Trinity alumnus Karl Hittle '89, then CEO at Hillcrest in Waco, who generously met with him for more than an hour. “Without his kindness and Trinity affiliation, I may never have entered the field,” he acknowledges.
Lacking prerequisite business courses, Steven worried that he wouldn’t make it through the Trinity interview process. Fortunately, the “legendary Dr. Ted Sparling” explained that Trinity valued his strong science training and expressed his confidence that Steven would succeed.
“Without Dr. Sparling's insight and generosity, I may not have made it to Trinity," he says gratefully. He also values Dr. Mary Stefl’s strong mentorship throughout his tenure in the program and, later, during his presidency of the Graduate Student Association.
Steven ultimately joined Tenet South Florida Healthcare and served in several Florida safety net institutions that required a turnaround in their finances and service scores. In his first senior administrative role as Associate Administrator at St. Mary’s Hospital in West Palm Beach, Steven worked hard to try to make a difference.
“The importance of all the support services with whom I worked was really brought home for me when my first child was born there in 2008,” he acknowledges. “To watch the care given to my wife and newborn from that perspective helped me see what an impact my work could have.”
While the public is focused on how expensive hospital core components of the provider network are, Steven points out that most hospital margins are very low and hopes that, at some point, people will gain greater insight into what makes up these costs. Administrators grapple with the pressure of providing excellent care with limited resources. The health care system is evolving toward more consumer-driven care and technological bypassing of traditional provider relationships. Steven is “fully confident that America’s health care workers will continue to show up and care for patients, in spite of financial pressures and a potential lack of public support based on these perceptions.” He notes that provider burnout is real, adding that "when our health workers make it through this window of time, I hope the public will also come to have a newfound respect and realization for what their caregivers have gone through.”
Personally, Steven is grateful to be blessed with a “beautiful family”—wife, Michelle, and three children—who have supported him through frequent moves, new schools, early mornings, and late evenings.
“Without their support, I don’t know how it would be possible to do this job,” Steven says. He and Michelle enjoy being an active part of their community and often focus on issues of health care and social determinants for children’s health, including serving on the SSM Health Cardinal Glennon Children’s Foundation Board and serving as Walk Chair for Make-a-Wish St. Louis Region’s “Walk for Wishes 2019.” He also maintains an advisory role with Ukulele Kids Club, an organization devoted to giving sick or injured children the gift of music. Along with his family activities and adventures, Steven maintains his personal passions for music of all kinds, the arts and the Liverpool Football Club. And, of course, for his work. “It’s such privilege to serve as a hospital leader.”
Words by Mary Denny
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