(St. Louis--) Tenet Saint Louis' Des Peres Hospital today announced that Kenneth E. Ross, D.O., a family physician with more than 20 years of medical experience, recently accepted to lead the hospital's Medical Education program as Director of Medical Education. In this role, Dr. Ross will plan, organize and direct the American Osteopathic Association approved medical education program at the hospital.  He reports directly to Michele C. Meyer, chief executive officer.

"Des Peres Hospital has a half-century tradition in medical education," said Meyer. "And we are pleased see that Dr. Ross, one of our graduates, is now coming back to direct the program."

The graduate medical education program at Des Peres Hospital has been in existence since 1947 and provides medical students, interns and residents with quality clinical and didactic opportunities in eight specialty areas:  Emergency Medicine, Family Practice, Internal Medicine, Internship, General Surgery, Anesthesiology, Otolaryngology/Facial Plastic Surgery, and Orthopedics.

Dr. Ross holds a bachelor's degree from Northeast Missouri State University and a medical doctorate from KCOM Kirksville, Missouri.  He graduated from the hospital's internship and residency programs in the early 1980s, when it was known as Normandy Osteopathic Hospital.  He is certified by the American College of Osteopathic Family Practitioners and the American Board of Quality Assurance and Utilization Review Physicians.

A 167-licensed bed acute care community hospital located at the intersection of interstate 270 and Dougherty Ferry Road, Des Peres Hospital provides quality medical and surgical care through a wide variety of services and programs, including heart care, geriatrics, orthopedics and emergency care. 

Tenet Saint Louis is a 1,584-licensed bed system of academic and community hospitals and schools of nursing headed by Phillip S. Schaengold, J.D., Tenet corporate vice president, operations and Tenet Saint Louis CEO. Its facilities include Des Peres Hospital, Forest Park Hospital, Saint Louis University Hospital, SouthPointe Hospital and St. Alexius Hospital.

Tenet Saint Louis employs approximately 5,500 people and cares for patients from eastern Missouri, southern Illinois and beyond. Tenet Saint Louis is the fourth-largest employer in the city of St. Louis. Current Tenet Saint Louis hospitals combined provided care to more residents of the city of St. Louis who were hospitalized from October 1, 1999 through September 30, 2000 than any other health system.

Tenet Healthcare Corporation, through its subsidiaries, owns and operates 114 acute care hospitals with 27,851beds and numerous related health care services.  Tenet and its subsidiaries employ approximately 115,000 people serving communities in 16 states.  Tenet's name reflects its core business philosophy: the importance of shared values among partners - including employees, physicians, insurers and communities - in providing a full spectrum of health care.  Tenet can be found on the World Wide Web at www.tenethealth.com <http://www.tenethealth.com>.

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