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CONTACT:
Alven Weil
Premier Inc.
704.733.5797

Four member hospitals win first-ever Premier supply chain innovation awards

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (June 26, 2007) – Premier has honored four alliance members for achieving successful innovations that have created new levels of performance and competitive advantage by awarding them the healthcare purchasing network’s first-ever Supply Chain Innovation Awards.

The awards were presented in ceremonies during Premier’s Annual Breakthroughs Conference and Exhibition which was held June 19-22 in Orlando, Fla. Winners as determined by a nine-member panel of external, internal and member judges are:

Fairview Health Services of Minneapolis for an integrated mobile equipment management process that uses wireless capable hand-held devices to track biomedical devices at four hospitals. The program exceeded financial goals, has reduced delays in deploying equipment for patient use, improved preventive maintenance, reduced clinical staff time spent searching for equipment, significantly reduced rental expenses, and increased equipment utilization.
Greater New York Hospital Association (GNYHA) of New York City for leadership in influencing Premier’s decision to develop supply chain technology to manage total spend (national, regional and local contracts) – not just proprietary national contracts – more efficiently and effectively.
Henry Ford Health System of Detroit for launching a unique Vendor Management Program to reduce and control supplier presence in patient care areas, to ensure that suppliers meet with patient care givers only with their approval, and to make sure that decisions are always made in the best interest of the patient without undue influence from suppliers.
West Penn Allegheny Health System of Pittsburgh for introducing Premier to the reverse auction process. Premier’s utilization of reverse auctions in contracting for more than $2 billion of annual spend has yielded average savings of more than 18 percent. Based on these figures, reverse auctions have created more than $360 million in annual value for the Premier membership.

“These new awards not only celebrate the successes of our top performers but also encourage sharing of better practices and breakthrough ideas so we can all accelerate performance,” said Mike Alkire, President of Premier Purchasing Partners. “The awards speak directly to several of the key roles of our Premier enterprise – improve quality and reduce costs, improve financial health, improve organizational health and facilitate knowledge transfer.

“The Supply Chain Innovation Award recognizes members that have worked with Premier to introduce the most innovative, high-impact supply chain improvement ideas to our membership,” Alkire said. “These winning ideas are already in place and are even now creating value for members.”

Judges for the Supply Chain Innovation Awards included outside experts Eugene S. Schneller, Professor, School of Health Administration and Policy, W. P. Carey School of Business, Arizona State University; John Pritchard, Publisher, The Journal of Healthcare Contracting; and Rick Dana Barlow, Senior Editor, Healthcare Purchasing News.

Other judges were three members of Premier Purchasing Partners’ Strategic Advisory Committee: Frank Fernandez, Assistant Vice President and Corporate Director of Materials Management, Baptist Health South Florida, Miami; Larry Fogarty, Vice President of Materials Management, Methodist Healthcare, Memphis, Tenn; and Mike Rosenblatt, Corporate Vice President, Supply Chain Management, SSM Health Care, St. Louis; as well as Susan DeVore, Premier COO; Tim Berkey, Managing Principal, Surgical Services, Premier Consulting Solutions; and Alkire.

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.