Premier Honors Healthcare System, Contracted Supplier for Efforts to Promote Diversity...

Premier Honors Healthcare System, Contracted Supplier for Efforts to Promote Diversity in Supply Chain Process

Summa Health Systems, Abbott Win Top Awards
CHARLOTTE, N.C.--(Business Wire)--
The Premier healthcare alliance has named Summa Health Systems of
Akron, Ohio, and Abbott of Abbott Park, Ill., as winners of the 2008
Premier Diversity Award. The annual award recognizes a Premier member
hospital or health system and a Premier contracted supplier for
efforts to purchase goods and services from Premier contracted diverse
suppliers, as well as develop procurement strategies aligned with the
communities they serve.

Premier President and CEO Richard A. Norling and Deborah A.
Williams, senior director of supplier diversity, presented the awards
June 12, 2008, at Premier's Annual Breakthroughs Conference and
Exhibition in Nashville, Tenn. Some 3,000 representatives of
healthcare systems and suppliers attended the meeting from June 10-13.

"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. Of the more than 2,000
hospitals in the Premier alliance nationwide eligible for this award,
Summa is the only hospital/health system to receive this distinction.

"It is Summa's goal to become an industry leader through
continuous growth of our diversity program, as this is critical to our
success in all arenas," said Tom Strauss, president and CEO of Summa
Health System. "Winning this supplier diversity award is recognition
of the focused efforts of our staff who have developed and fostered
these essential business relationships and partnerships, which will
allow us to better serve our patients, employees and community."

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. Of the more than 800 suppliers
contracted with the Premier alliance eligible for this award, Abbott
is the only organization to receive this distinction.

"Abbott is pleased to accept this award and thanks Premier for its
recognition of our long-standing commitment to supplier diversity,"
said Sarah Catterson, divisional vice president of purchasing.

Premier recognized one additional hospital and supplier with
honorable mentions for their programs to support supplier diversity:
Nationwide Children's Hospital of Columbus, Ohio, and Herman Miller,
Inc. of Zeeland, Mich.

"These organizations realize the value of this initiative and its
positive impact nationwide," said Williams. "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."

For more information, please visit:
www.premierinc.com/about/news/awards/index.jsp.

About Premier Inc., 2006 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award
recipient

Serving more than 2,000 U.S. hospitals and 51,000-plus other
healthcare sites, the Premier healthcare alliance and its members are
transforming healthcare together. Owned by not-for-profit hospitals,
Premier operates one of the leading healthcare purchasing networks and
the nation's most comprehensive repository of hospital clinical and
financial information. A subsidiary operates one of the nation's
largest policy-holder owned, hospital professional liability
risk-retention groups. A world leader in helping healthcare providers
deliver dramatic improvements in care, Premier is working with the
United Kingdom's National Health Service North West and the Centers
for Medicare & Medicaid Services to improve hospital performance.
Headquartered in San Diego, Premier has offices in Charlotte, N.C.,
Philadelphia and Washington. For more information, visit
www.premierinc.com.

Premier Inc.
Alven Weil, 704-733-5797
alven_weil@premierinc.com

Copyright Business Wire 2008