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Large Catholic Members Form Contracting Group Within Premier

Posted on: Tuesday, 15 November 2005, 09:00 CST

Several large Catholic healthcare systems that are members in the Premier alliance have formed the Catholic Contracting Group to work together on shared supply chain improvement goals.

The newly formed group includes Bon Secours Health System, Catholic Healthcare West, Catholic Healthcare Partners, PeaceHealth and SSM Health Care. Together, the five founding members of the group have a combined purchasing volume through Premier contracts of $2.4 billion. Premier's members purchase approximately $25 billion worth of supplies and services through the alliance group contracts.

"The purpose of the Catholic Contracting Group is to work with Premier to drive supply chain improvement not just for Catholic alliance members but for all Premier members," said Keith Callahan, Vice President of Supply Chain Management for Catholic Healthcare West. "These organizations are some of the largest, most prestigious healthcare systems in America and we are taking a leadership role in defining the supply chain improvement agenda within the Premier alliance, which we believe will have an impact on the rest of healthcare."

Members of the Catholic Contracting Group have agreed to:

-- Develop a work plan that will define issues as well as preferred outcomes or desired changes beneficial to the Premier alliance.

-- Work to achieve efficiency in aggregating supply needs in selected product categories.

-- Work with Premier to pilot new models for custom contracting and supply chain improvement.

The following supply chain executives will form the initial governing body for the Catholic Contracting Group:

-- Ron Brady, VP, Materiel Management, Bon Secours Health System (BSHSI)

-- Keith Callahan, VP, Supply Chain Management, Catholic Healthcare West (CHW)

-- James Owen, System Director, Materials Management, PeaceHealth

-- Darryl Long, VP, Supply Chain Management, Catholic Healthcare Partners (CHP)

-- Mike Rosenblatt, Corporate VP, Supply Chain Management, SSM Health Care (SSM)

"Premier is owned by not-for-profit hospitals and health systems and we believe we can play a positive and significant role in making the alliance stronger and better for all its member hospitals," said Ron Brady, VP of Materiel Management at Bon Secours Health System. "As Catholic systems we have common goals and a solid foundation for working together."

"This is an important initiative at a time when Premier is leading a great deal of change and innovation in the healthcare supply chain," said Susan DeVore, President of Premier Purchasing Partners. "These large Catholic systems have always been innovators and we look to them to help drive the improvement agenda as we move forward."

About Premier

Premier Inc. is a healthcare alliance owned by more than 200 of the nation's leading hospital and healthcare systems. These systems operate or are affiliated with nearly 1,500 hospital facilities and thousands of other healthcare sites. Premier provides an array of resources in support of healthcare services, including group purchasing, with more than $25 billion in annual sales of supplies, equipment and services. Other resources offered by Premier include insurance programs and performance improvement services of many kinds. Premier is headquartered in San Diego, CA, with other major facilities in Chicago, IL and Charlotte, NC. Advocacy and policy offices are located in Washington, DC. For more information, please visit www.premierinc.com or contact Premier's Solution Center at 877.777.1552.

Source: Business Wire

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