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Alven Weil
Premier Inc.
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Premier healthcare alliance adds new suppliers to program supporting growth of diverse and small business enterprises

SEEDS supplier diversity initiative increases the number of minority-, women- and veteran-owned suppliers and small businesses doing business with Premier alliance hospital members

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (July 7, 2009) – The Premier healthcare alliance today announced that three new hospital supplier agreements have been launched in its supplier diversity program aimed at increasing the number of small, diverse and regional enterprises doing business with members of the Premier alliance.

The SEEDS – Sourcing Education and Enrichment for Diverse and Small Suppliers – program is designed to ensure participants enter the group purchasing contracting process ready to succeed. SEEDS provides resources to minority-, women- and veteran-owned suppliers and small businesses through various business tools in order to enhance their contractual experience with Premier members. Likewise, the program introduces additional diverse and small business supplier options to Premier members.

New contract agreements were launched with:

NK Medical Products Inc. of Clarence, N.Y., a small-business enterprise and leader in pediatric care equipment, specializing in room furnishings.
NEScientific Inc. of Waterbury, Conn., a small-business enterprise which provides Food and Drug Administration approved reprocessing of single-use and opened but unused surgical devices. Through NEScientific, providers can expect to save 50 percent or more on their surgical products while eliminating tons of environmental waste annually.
Strong Tool Company, LLC of Cleveland, Ohio, a minority business enterprise and International Organization for Standardization certified company with a broad range of initiatives in e-commerce, customer service and inventory management. Minority business enterprise certification has enabled Strong Tool to become a supplier to many companies with minority initiatives.

"Through SEEDS, an enhancement to Premier's supplier diversity program, contracts with diverse and small business suppliers are increasing within the Premier contract portfolio," said Premier Purchasing Partners President Mike Alkire. "Whether locally, regionally or nationally, SEEDS support of diverse and small business enterprises enables healthy business growth by creating opportunities to work more effectively with members of the Premier healthcare alliance. In working with Premier, these companies will be in a special position to improve the health of their local economies with increased revenues and new potential jobs."

"Premier’s SEEDS program offers training and mentoring to diverse and small business suppliers to help them grow," said Premier Senior Director of Supplier Diversity Deborah A. Williams. "We are excited to work with these new diverse suppliers and provide them with educational strategies on how to do business with Premier member hospitals through Premier agreements."

About the Premier healthcare alliance, Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award recipient
Premier is a performance improvement alliance of more than 2,400 U.S. hospitals and nearly 70,000 other healthcare sites working together to achieve high quality, cost-effective care. Owned by not-for-profit hospitals, Premier maintains the nation's most comprehensive repository of clinical, financial and outcomes information and operates a leading healthcare purchasing network. A world leader in helping deliver measurable improvements in care, Premier works with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and the United Kingdom's National Health Service North West to improve hospital performance. Headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., Premier also has offices in San Diego, Philadelphia and Washington. http://www.premierinc.com