CHARLOTTE, N.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 3, 2006--Boston Medical Center's Breast Health Services program has received the 14th Annual Monroe E. Trout Premier Cares Award for helping breast cancer patients in the hospital's multi-cultural community access care more effectively and efficiently.

The Cares Award, sponsored by Premier and its not-for-profit member hospitals, recognizes exemplary efforts by community organizations to improve the health of the medically underserved.

Representatives of the Breast Health Services program received the recognition as well as $70,000 during Premier's annual Governance Education Conference, which took place January 30 - February 1.

A leading alliance of not-for-profit hospitals, Premier receives approximately 200 applications annually for the prestigious award. A panel of hospital professionals, as well as health and business industry leaders, selects the winner and five finalists, which also receive cash awards.

"We are proud to support the efforts of organizations that are out there making a real difference in people's health every day," said Richard A. Norling, Premier's president and CEO. "With this award, we honor those organizations that are helping us achieve Premier's core purpose of improving the health of communities."

The Breast Health Services initiative serves low-income and minority populations in Boston and surrounding areas. Through outreach and care redesign like patient navigation, Boston Medical Center has increased access to breast cancer screening and treatment for underserved women and has reduced barriers to care for populations in need.

Following are the other five finalists for the Premier Cares Award, each of which received at least $20,000:

Adopt-A-Mom, Guilford County Coalition on Infant Mortality, Greensboro, NC: Adopt-A-Mom coordinates prenatal care for low to medium-risk pregnant women who are Medicaid ineligible and lack private health insurance to obtain prenatal care. More than 80 volunteers work with seven local obstetricians who provide prenatal care at a flat fee of $400 per patient (paid by the Coalition on Infant Mortality).

Child Asthma Link Line, Philadelphia Health Management Corporation, Philadelphia, PA: Child Asthma Link Line coordinates the care of children with asthma living in medically underserved communities in North and West Philadelphia. The program seeks to understand the complexity of families impacted by asthma and link these families to a holistic range of services for improving health and quality of life.

Childhood Asthma Initiative of the Children's Health Fund, New York, NY: This initiative provides asthma services to homeless and poor children in New York City and Washington, DC. Since it was established in 1997, the Childhood Asthma Initiative has significantly reduced asthma severity and preventable hospital use among these medically underserved populations. The initiative's approach includes significant community education.

South Bay Asthma Advocacy Program, Paradise Valley Hospital/Adventist Health, National City, CA: Paradise Valley Hospital established the South Bay Asthma Advocacy Program in 2002 to address the nation's leading childhood chronic disease in their community. In addition to medication management components, this disease management program provides in-home education and environmental assessments by licensed respiratory care practitioners.

WINGS (Women Involved in Nurturing, Giving, Sharing), San Antonio,
TX: WINGS was founded in 1999 by two breast cancer survivors to provide breast cancer treatment to uninsured women in South and Central Texas. The program offers breast cancer treatment, including surgery, chemotherapy, radiation, home care and medications, at no charge to the patient.

About Premier

Premier, Inc., the leader in helping hospitals accelerate performance on both clinical outcomes and supply chain costs, is a healthcare alliance entirely owned by more than 200 of the nation's leading not-for-profit hospital and healthcare systems. These organizations operate or are affiliated with more than 1,400 hospitals and thousands of other healthcare sites. Headquartered in San Diego, Premier has offices in Charlotte, NC, Chicago and Washington, DC. For more information, visit www.premierinc.com.

About the Premier Cares Award

Premier and other sponsoring organizations have presented the Cares Award annually since 1992, when it was created by Dr. Monroe E.
Trout, former CEO of American Healthcare Systems, one of Premier's heritage organizations. The Cares Award winner receives a cash prize of at least $70,000, while five runners-up receive smaller cash awards. The competition is open to non-profit organizations that have been in existence for more than two years, are providing creative solutions to health status improvement, can provide documentation of outcomes and impact on a specific population, and have programs that can be replicated in other communities.

Copyright Business Wire 2006

Premier, Inc.

Premier, Inc.

Serving 1,700 hospitals and almost 45,000 other healthcare sites, Premier Inc. 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.

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