News
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT:
Alven Weil
Premier Inc.
704.733.5797
Premier names Abernathy Chief Administrative Officer
CHARLOTTE, NC (October 23, 2007) — The Premier Inc. healthcare alliance has named Jena Abernathy to the newly created position of chief administrative officer, according to Premier President and CEO Richard A. Norling.
“This new title reflects Jena's significant contributions toward the formulation of alliance strategic plans, corporate goals and corporate culture, in addition to her executive accountability for the operations and performance of the company’s human resources, performance excellence and administrative services functions,” Norling said. “I look forward to Jena's continued dedication to Premier and her ongoing commitment to Premier’s values passion for performance and focus on people.”
Abernathy, who has been with Premier since 2000, has more than 20 years of senior level human resources and administrative experience. In her role, she is responsible for developing, implementing and managing a comprehensive suite of human resources, benefits and training programs, as well as managing facilities, performance excellence programs, conference services, meeting planning and travel.
Abernathy served as executive lead for Premier during its successful 2006 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award journey. Under Abernathy’s guidance, Premier has also been named a Best Place To Work In Charlotte and received the Charlotte Business Ethics Award.
Before joining Premier, Abernathy was vice president of Human Resources for Fisher Scientific. She also served as senior vice president for Human Resources and Administration at McKesson General Medical Corporation.
Abernathy is the principle author of “Managing Layoffs: Strategies for Bringing a Company Through a Difficult Time” and “Promoting a High Performance Workplace Through Pay for Performance Programs,” published by ExecBlueprints. She is a recognized leader in the human resources field and a frequent public speaker covering the topics of “Values-based Leadership,” the “Malcolm Baldrige Journey” and “Managing a High Performance Culture.”
Abernathy serves on the Board of Directors for the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra and is a member of the Board of Advisors for the Charlotte Chamber of Commerce. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration from the University of Mary Washington (formerly Mary Washington College) in Fredericksburg, Va.
About Premier Inc., 2006 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award
recipient
Serving 1,700 hospitals and more than 47,000 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, the most comprehensive repository of
hospital clinical and financial information and 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., Philadelphia and Washington. For more information, visit
www.premierinc.com.