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MedAssets Launches Nutrition Initiative to Help Senior Nutrition Programs Feed More Seniors

Posted on: Wednesday, 2 March 2005, 12:00 CST

MedAssets, Inc. announced today that it has expanded its current food and nutrition program to include a full scale effort designed to help senior nutrition programs nationwide feed more senior adults. Through this initiative, MedAssets, a leading provider of healthcare supply chain management and revenue cycle solutions focusing on margin and cash flow enhancement, is reaching past industry lines to provide access to purchasing power for food products otherwise unavailable to individual senior centers. MedAssets' healthcare customers currently purchase approximately $250+ million of products through MedAssets' food and nutrition contracts each year; the purchasing volume generated by MedAssets' healthcare customers will translate into significant savings for the senior nutrition sector. In addition, MedAssets will provide innovative technology that allows individual centers to plan well balanced menus that meet nutrition targets and individual preferences, utilize contracts for purchasing food items at a discounted rate, and to have extensive reporting capabilities that will help programs effectively manage their budget dollars. These efficiencies will allow senior nutrition programs to expand the number of seniors they serve on a daily basis, clear waiting lists, and potentially offer supplemental meals. The MedAssets program will be promoted under the name MedAssets Nutrition Connection.

The expansion of the MedAssets senior nutrition initiative began in April 2004 with the partnership of MedAssets and Homeplate Food Group, an Afton, Minnesota based food marketing company specializing in developing new products and supply chain solutions for senior nutrition programs. Homeplate president, David W. Beck, who has developed relationships with the country's largest and most well known senior nutrition organizations, will serve as the representative for this program.

"Senior nutrition programs currently provide more than three million meals per day to older Americans nationwide. The food cost of supplying these meals is approximately $2.2 billion per year," stated Beck. "By aligning the capabilities of MedAssets and the support of respected senior nutrition organizations, we will find the intersection of the goodwill that exists within the supply chain and the requirement for food that is good for our nation's senior population. The result will be healthier, more independent seniors."

"Senior nutrition programs are working with limited resources to provide meals to our nation's senior population," stated John Bardis, chairman, president and CEO of MedAssets. "Helping these programs to create process and cost efficiencies will result in more meals served to more seniors. This is the right thing to do."

About MedAssets

MedAssets, headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, improves healthcare providers' margin and cash flow through revenue cycle and supply chain initiatives. As a strategic business partner, MedAssets can replace multiple vendors and decrease supply costs by 3-10 % and increase net patient revenue by 1-3 %. Proprietary information technology is used to work with and improve existing IT assets and work processes. MedAssets, through its revenue cycle subsidiary MedAssets Net Revenue Systems, provides best-of-breed revenue solutions including strategic pricing, pre-bill charge capturing, and ongoing chargemaster management tools, all of which have been Peer Reviewed by the Healthcare Financial Management Association. MedAssets, through its supply chain subsidiary MedAssets Supply Chain Systems, operates the fastest growing group purchasing organization and supply chain services company in the U.S. and builds customized solutions encompassing procurement of common medical supplies, pharmaceuticals, physician preference supplies, food and nutrition items, and capital equipment. For more information about MedAssets go to www.medassets.com or contact Gary Johnson, vice president of Marketing and Marketing Services, 100 North Point Center East, Suite 200, Alpharetta, GA 30022.

Source: Business Wire

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