6.25.2007 - 11:25am ET

(CSRwire) CHARLOTTE, N.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 25, 2007--The Premier healthcare alliance has named Henry Ford Health System of Detroit and Cardinal Health of Dublin, Ohio, as winners of the 2007 Premier Diversity Recognition Award for healthcare system and contracted supplier, respectively, based on their efforts to promote the use of minority, women, veteran and small businesses.

The nation's largest healthcare purchasing network, Premier is committed to the growth and success of diversity suppliers. As part of its best-in-class supplier diversity initiatives, Premier's Supplier Diversity Committee established an annual awards program to recognize a member hospital and a contracted supplier for efforts to purchase goods and services from Premier contracted diverse suppliers and to develop procurement strategies to align with the communities served.

Premier President and CEO Richard A. Norling and Gleatha Glispie, national director of Premier's supplier diversity initiative, presented the awards June 19, 2007, at Premier's annual Breakthroughs Conference and Exhibition in Orlando, Fla. Some 3,000 representatives of healthcare systems and suppliers attended the meeting from June 19-22.

"It is important that we have a robust community of diverse suppliers to serve the healthcare industry," Norling said. "Competition helps hold down the cost of healthcare supplies. Doing business with diverse suppliers is not only the right thing to do, it's good for business, for communities and for patients."

The member award identifies Premier member hospitals and health systems that have established active programs to evaluate and support minority, women-owned, and veteran-owned contracted suppliers available through the Premier contract portfolio. The award considers members that have established programs to encourage the development of diverse suppliers in their own community.

"Henry Ford is honored to be selected for this award," said Nancy Schlichting, president and CEO, Henry Ford Health System. "It is gratifying to be acknowledged for our long-term commitment to supplier diversity. We believe that by working with minority and women-owned businesses we are investing in the present as well as the future of Detroit."

Four other Premier members received honorable mentions for their programs to support supplier diversity: Detroit Medical Center (DMC) of Detroit; Greenville Hospital System of Greenville, S.C.; Summa Health System of Akron, Ohio; and TriHealth, Inc., of Cincinnati.

The supplier award for diversity recognizes Premier contracted suppliers that support efforts to increase purchases from diverse suppliers and provide economic development opportunities for communities throughout the U.S.

"Fostering diversity among our employees, our customers and our suppliers is key to Cardinal Health's vision of becoming the premier global healthcare company," said Jody Davids, chief information officer and executive vice president of global shared services for Cardinal Health. "We're proud to be recognized by Premier for our efforts to create long-lasting, mutually beneficial relationships with diverse suppliers, and we look forward to continuing to expand our supplier diversity program to help us understand and meet the needs of our increasingly diverse marketplace."

Premier contracted suppliers receiving honorable mentions include Abbott of Abbott Park, Ill., and W. W. Grainger, Inc. of Lake Forest, Ill.

"These organizations realize the value of this initiative and its positive impact nationwide," said Glispie. "Each organization has recognized and embraced supplier diversity as an essential strategy for managing product costs and creating fair market conditions for all. Access to diversity suppliers expands choice and strengthens the availability of quality products."

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 the nation's largest healthcare purchasing network, 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. and Washington. For more information, visit www.premierinc.com.



Copyright Business Wire 2007

For more information please contact: