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CONTACT:
Alven Weil
Premier Inc.
704.733.5797

Premier launches new, improved programs to help members reduce construction costs

Early involvement in project planning key to improved savings

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (July 13, 2007) – Industry estimates indicate that hospitals will spend $200 billion on construction during the next decade. To help members make the most of limited capital and construction budgets, the Premier alliance has implemented a revitalized construction and renovation program.

“Our members will spend more than $8 billion on construction this year. We want to partner with them to maximize their construction dollars,” said Premier Purchasing Partners President Mike Alkire. “By working with members and their architects, equipment planners and project managers in the planning stage of a project, we can encourage standardization and utilization of Premier agreements that will reward them with significant savings.”

Premier’s comprehensive new Construction and Renovation Program features access to industry-leading agreements, vital construction expertise, a Web site with resources such as a construction calculator and sample specification documents – all at no cost to members.

“Nearly all Premier member hospitals are embarking on major capital improvement projects. If we can identify members’ needs early on, even before they select an architect, there’s even greater potential to guarantee optimal savings” said Dan Gonda, Premier’s new Director of Sourcing Hospital Construction.

Ron Connovich, Director of Facilities Planning and Plant Operations at St. Rita’s Medical Center in Lima, Ohio, can attest to the power of maximizing project dollars by using Premier early in the project planning process. In 2003, St. Rita’s began planning for a new infrastructure and tower expansion project.

“The decision must be made early in the design phase – that’s the critical success factor,” says Connovich. “Once the decision is made to utilize the portfolio, it’s seamless and easy.” Projected savings range in excess of $1 million – about 10 percent of $9 million in purchases. There will also be savings associated with the medical equipment and furnishings for the project that have not been included in these estimates.

“I’ll admit, the use of the Premier portfolio on this project was a trial, and I was even a little skeptical,” Connovich said. “But as we near the end of the project, I am a believer; it is definitely worth the time and effort. Separately, the contract savings aren’t huge, but with a project of this size, it adds up quickly.”

At the heart of Premier’s enhanced program is a commitment “to engage all the healthcare systems’ stakeholders, from materials managers to the c-suite, in the construction decision-making process,” Gonda said. “We want to work with our members to educate general contractors, architects and equipment planners of the benefits of utilizing the Premier facilities portfolio.”

Premier is also committed to broadening its already significant facilities portfolio specific to construction and renovation projects as well as to build complementary relationships with general contractors, architects and equipment planners that over the long haul will bring added benefits to members.

In addition, Premier, through its Premier Consulting Solutions group, offers a broad array of capital programs to support capital assessment, acquisition and lifecycle management. Recently, Premier enhanced its services with a new offering of Attainia’s industry-leading online capital equipment planning and budgeting software tools at market-leading prices.

Premier members can access Attainia’s PLANSM, which simplifies and accelerates the facilities and equipment planning process and the PREDICTSM module, through which capital demand information from both the routine annual budgeting software and project-related capital equipment forecasted in PLANSM can be aggregated and viewed real-time. The data analysis tool can be used for identification of standardization initiatives, Premier contract opportunities, tier optimization and local negotiation options.

About Premier, 2006 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award recipient
Serving 1,700 hospitals and more than 46,500 other healthcare sites, Premier is the largest healthcare alliance in the United States dedicated to improving patient outcomes while safely reducing the cost of care. Owned by not-for-profit hospitals, Premier operates one of the nation's largest healthcare purchasing networks and the most comprehensive repository of hospital clinical and financial information. Premier Insurance Management Services, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary, operates one of the largest policy-holder owned, hospital professional liability risk-retention groups in healthcare. Headquartered in San Diego, Premier has offices in Charlotte, N.C. and Washington. For more information, visit www.premierinc.com.