NAPERVILLE, Ill. & CHARLOTTE, N.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 2, 2007--The Illinois Hospital Association (IHA) and Premier Purchasing Partners, LP, today announced that Katherine Shaw Bethea Hospital (KSB), Dixon, Ill., has joined the Illinois Purchasing Collaborative (IPC), IHA's new program aimed at reducing member supply chain costs.

The addition of Katherine Shaw Bethea Hospital, formerly with Novation, brings to 23 the number of IHA members now participating in the IPC. Members can take advantage of not only Premier's industry-leading contracts but also the IPC's collaborative model for enhancing those supplier contracts and negotiating regional contracts.

KSB CEO Darryl Vandervort said, "KSB has always been a strong supporter of the Illinois Hospital Association and this is one more partnership that will bring significant value to KSB. In working with the excellent professional staff of IPC-Premier, I am confident that there will be a very good blend of regional and national purchasing contracts. As the relationship continues, we are expecting a long and fruitful arrangement leading to material cost savings at KSB and our medical clinics."

KSB COO David Schreiner echoed Vandervort, "KSB's involvement in the IPC is a positive way for us to strengthen our relations with the Illinois Hospital Association and further the mission of Illinois hospitals. I am looking forward to working with IPC-Premier for our purchasing contracts."

Dick Meggers, KSB Director of Materials Management, noted that he is "very excited about the new relationship with IPC. There will be opportunities for us to have a voice regionally to use our purchasing dollars collectively with other hospitals for better purchasing opportunities. The IHA has formed the regional purchasing collaborative so we can work with other Illinois hospitals on a local basis to put together contracts that will benefit all of us. It's a very positive move for KSB, our medical clinics and other hospitals that are participating in the collaborative."

Illinois Hospital Association President Ken Robbins said, "We are pleased to have Katherine Shaw Bethea Hospital as a new member of the IPC. We welcome KSB as an integral part of our collaborative, which demonstrates the strength of Illinois hospitals working together."

Premier Purchasing Partners President Mike Alkire said, "We welcome Katherine Shaw Bethea Hospital to our IPC partnership. Together we strengthen Illinois hospitals' efforts to improve cost effectiveness and serve their communities better. Highly efficient supply chain systems combined with savings opportunities created by hospitals all over Illinois working together in the IPC-Premier initiative to access competitive pricing provides significant value to KSB and other IHA members."

IHA launched IPC a year ago as only the second state hospital association in the country to provide hospital members access to pricing tiers through regional aggregation previously unattainable. IPC is modeled after a highly successful program pioneered by GNYHA Ventures, Inc., a subsidiary of the Greater New York Hospital Association (GNYHA), in cooperation with the Hospital Association of New York State. GNYHA Ventures is a consultant to the Illinois program.

IPC's membership includes Premier member hospitals in Illinois: Alexian Brothers Medical Center, Elk Grove Village; Alexian Brothers Behavioral Health Hospital, Hoffman Estates; Alexian Rehabilitation Hospital, Elk Grove Village; Carle Foundation Hospital, Urbana; Centegra Memorial Medical Center, Woodstock; Centegra Northern Illinois Medical Center, McHenry; Central DuPage Hospital, Winfield; Children's Memorial Hospital, Chicago; Gottlieb Memorial Hospital, Melrose Park; Ingalls Memorial Hospital, Harvey; Mercy Hospital & Medical Center, Chicago; Methodist Medical Center of Illinois, Peoria; Mount Sinai Hospital Medical Center, Chicago; Our Lady of the Resurrection Medical Center, Chicago; Resurrection Medical Center, Chicago; Saint Elizabeth Hospital, Chicago; Saint Francis Hospital, Evanston; Saint Joseph Hospital, Chicago; Saint Mary of Nazareth Hospital Center, Chicago; St. Alexius Medical Center, Hoffman Estates; West Suburban Hospital, Oak Park; and Westlake Hospital, Melrose Park.

About Katherine Shaw Bethea Hospital

Katherine Shaw Bethea Hospital is a 100-bed acute care facility serving the health needs of Dixon, Ill., and its surrounding communities for more than 100 years. It offers a variety of services from obstetrics to occupational and sports medicine, from behavioral health care to cardiac rehabilitation. KSB programs reflect its desire to meet the growing, changing needs of those it serve and to remain focused on the bigger picture of overall patient health and wellbeing. Throughout its history there have been changes in technology and growth in its buildings and services, but what has remained constant is the commitment to providing top-quality care. For more information, visit www.ksbhospital.com.

About Illinois Hospital Association

The Illinois Hospital Association, with offices in Naperville and Springfield, represents some 200 hospitals and health systems and the patients and communities they serve. Association members range from teaching hospitals, to community hospitals, to rural facilities, to specialty institutions. Since IHA was formed in 1923, its mission has been to strengthen and unite hospitals and make high-quality, affordable health care available to all Illinoisans. To make this possible, the association works to ensure that adequate resources are available for the state's health care delivery system. With health care delivery going through radical changes, that mission is more important now than ever before. For more information, visit www.ihatoday.org.

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.

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Copyright Business Wire 2007

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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