Premier, Inc. Recognizes More Than 120 Organizations for Excellence in Healthcare

Health System and Supplier Recipients of Premier's 2015 Breakthroughs Awards Announced


CHARLOTTE, N.C., June 25, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Premier, Inc. (Nasdaq:PINC) has recognized more than 120 hospitals, health systems and suppliers for their outstanding work to improve community health and reduce costs.

Health system and supplier recipients of Premier's 2015 Breakthroughs Awards are industry leaders that are transforming healthcare," said Susan DeVore, Premier president and CEO. "We congratulate them for their innovative contributions to improving healthcare quality and reducing cost, as well as their work to improve the health of communities nationwide."

Winners were announced during an awards ceremony held at Premier's annual Breakthroughs Conference and Exhibition in National Harbor, Maryland. Each summer, approximately 4,000 health system, academic institution and supplier representatives attend the conference to learn practical, replicable strategies to improve healthcare delivery.

American Excess Insurance Exchange (AEIX) Risk Management Award

Premier Insurance Management Services, Inc. presented the AEIX Risk Management Award to the following hospitals and health systems for creating practices to promote patient safety and enhance the quality of care.

  • Presbyterian Healthcare Services, Albuquerque, New Mexico
  • Summa Akron City Hospital, Akron, Ohio
  • Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Alliance, Fort Worth, Texas
  • Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Hurst-Euless-Bedford, Bedford, Texas
  • Texas Health Harris Methodist Southwest Fort Worth, Fort Worth, Texas

Culinary Cup Award

Premier presented the Culinary Cup award to Jennifer Ball, executive chef, Indu & Raj Soin Medical Center, Beavercreek, Ohio to celebrate her culinary talent. Ball won the award for creating the best recipe for petite desserts, as judged by Premier members.

Finalists for the award include:

  • Karen Marble, foodservice director, Maine Veterans Homes, Scarborough, Maine
  • Ann Ruoff, supervisor, nutrition services, Fort Hamilton Hospital, Hamilton, Ohio
  • Jacques Wilson, executive chef, El Camino Hospital, Mountain View, California

In addition, six other culinary experts were among the top ten:

  • Maureen Brooker, chef supervisor, Adrian Dominican Sisters, Adrian, Michigan
  • Genie Gunn, food and nutrition manager, Verner Center for Early Learning, Asheville, North Carolina
  • Ron Hall, executive chef, Mercy Hospital, Iowa City, Iowa
  • Dale Lent, executive chef, Misericordia University, Dallas, Pennsylvania
  • Erick Neuharth, operations manager, nutritional care, St. Helena Hospital, St. Helena, California
  • Joe Ninnemann, manager and chef, food and nutrition services, Aurora Medical Center Hartford, Hartford, Wisconsin

Diversity Award

The following organizations received the Diversity Award for important contributions in developing and nurturing diversity programs in their organizations and communities.

  • Moffitt Cancer Center, Tampa, Florida
  • Print Media Corporation

In addition, two organizations received an honorable mention for the Diversity Award:

  • Saint Francis Care, Hartford, Connecticut
  • Johnson & Johnson

Illuminating Excellence Award

Premier presented the Illuminating Excellence Award to the following individuals for being outstanding foodservice professionals. Winners are selected based on improvements in operations, participation in Premier activities, professional/community activities and personal achievements.

  • Meghean Faul Feidelman, Joe DiMaggio Children's Hospital, Hollywood, Florida
  • Frank Scavullo, Franke at Seaside Active Lifestyle Community, Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina
  • Randy Lait, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina

Finalists for the award include:

  • Tina Banning, nutrition services manager, Kettering Health Network, Kettering, Ohio
  • William H. Bozarth, director of dining services/chef, The Lodge Retirement Community, Cincinnati
  • Karen Klinkner, director of nutrition services, Avera Queen of Peace/Avera Brady Health and Rehab, Mitchell, South Dakota
  • Susan Larcom, director, nutrition services, Shawnee Mission Medical Center, Overland Park, Kansas
  • Jason Pickard, assistant director vendor relations and culinary operations, Georgia Southern University, Eagle Dining Services, Statesboro, Georgia
  • Jeff Proulx, supervisor, food and nutrition services, Washington County Public Schools, Hagerstown, Maryland
  • Richard Roozen, foodservice director, Indian River Medical Center, Vero Beach, Florida
  • Kevin Santora, director, resident services, Baptist Home Society, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
  • Lisa Schairer, vice president, food and nutrition/environmental services, Aurora Health Care, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
  • Georgia Troxel, system director, Appalachian Regional Healthcare System, Boone, North Carolina

QUEST® Award for High-value Healthcare

The following hospitals were recognized with the QUEST® Award for High-value Healthcare for achieving top performance in seven of the areas measured in Premier's QUEST collaborative: cost and efficiency, inpatient and outpatient evidence-based care, mortality, safety, patient experience and appropriate hospital use.

  • Baptist Memorial Hospital-Union County, New Albany, Mississippi
  • Memorial Hospital Miramar, Miramar, Florida
  • West Georgia Medical Center, LaGrange, Georgia

The following hospitals were recognized as finalists for achieving top performance in at least six of the seven areas measured in the collaborative.

  • Baptist Memorial Hospital-Union City, Union City, Tennessee
  • Metroplex Adventist Hospital, Killeen, Texas
  • SSM Health St. Francis Hospital – Maryville, Maryville, Missouri
  • SSM Health St. Clare Hospital, Baraboo, Wisconsin
  • Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Azle, Azle, Texas
  • Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Rockwall, Rockwall, Texas
  • University Hospitals Conneaut Medical Center, Conneaut, Ohio

In addition, the following hospitals received a citation of merit for achieving top performance in at least five of the seven areas measured in the collaborative.

  • Adventist La Grange Memorial Hospital, La Grange, Illinois
  • Banner Ironwood Medical Center, San Tan Valley, Arizona
  • Baptist Memorial Hospital-Golden Triangle, Columbus, Mississippi
  • Baptist Memorial Hospital-Huntingdon, Huntingdon, Tennessee
  • Fairview Lakes Medical Center, Wyoming, Minnesota
  • Florida Hospital Carrollwood, Tampa, Florida
  • Florida Hospital Fish Memorial, Orange City, Florida
  • Greene Memorial Hospital, Xenia, Ohio
  • Kettering Medical Center, Kettering, Ohio
  • Louisiana Heart Hospital, Lacombe, Louisiana
  • Memorial Hospital Pembroke, Pembroke Pines, Florida
  • Memorial Regional Hospital South, Hollywood, Florida
  • North Mississippi Medical Center – Iuka, Iuka, Mississippi
  • North Mississippi Medical Center – Pontotoc, Pontotoc, Mississippi
  • Riverside Tappahannock Hospital, Tappahannock, Virginia
  • SSM Health St. Clare Health Center, Fenton, Missouri
  • St. Luke's Allentown Campus, Allentown, Pennsylvania
  • St. Luke's Bethlehem Campus, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
  • St. Luke's Miners Campus, Coaldale, Pennsylvania
  • St. Luke's Quakertown Campus, Quakertown, Pennsylvania

Supply Chain Innovation Award

The following organizations received the Supply Chain Innovation Award for introducing innovative, high-impact supply chain improvement ideas to the healthcare industry.

  • Mission Health System, Asheville, North Carolina
  • North Oaks Medical Center, Hammond, Louisiana

Supply Chain Excellence Award

The following hospitals and health systems received the Supply Chain Excellence Award for superior supply expense performance.

  • Adventist GlenOaks Hospital, Glendale Heights, Illinois
  • Adventist Medical Center – Hanford, Hanford, California
  • Baton Rouge General Medical Center Mid City, Baton Rouge, Louisiana
  • Cape Fear Valley Health System, Fayetteville, North Carolina
  • Carilion Franklin Memorial Hospital, Rocky Mount, Virginia
  • Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital, Roanoke, Virginia
  • Carilion Tazewell Community Hospital, Tazewell, Virginia
  • Central Iowa Healthcare, Marshalltown, Iowa
  • Central Maine Healthcare, Lewiston, Maine
  • Einstein Healthcare Network, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
  • Florida Hospital Apopka, Apopka, Florida
  • General Health System, Baton Rouge, Louisiana
  • Henry Ford Health System, Detroit
  • Heritage Valley Sewickley, Sewickley, Pennsylvania 
  • Kosair Children's Hospital, Louisville, Kentucky
  • Marcum & Wallace Memorial Hospital, Irvine, Kentucky
  • McLaren Flint, Flint, Michigan
  • Mercy St. Charles Hospital, Oregon, Ohio
  • Methodist Charlton Medical Center, Dallas
  • Methodist Health System, Dallas
  • Methodist Hospitals, Gary, Indiana
  • Norton Women's and Kosair Children's Hospital, Louisville, Kentucky
  • Olean General Hospital, Olean, New York
  • PeaceHealth Cottage Grove Community Hospital, Cottage Grove, Oregon
  • PeaceHealth Southwest Medical Center, Vancouver, Washington
  • St. Francis Medical Center, Lynwood, California
  • St. Helena Hospital Clear Lake, Clearlake, California
  • Takoma Regional Hospital, Greeneville, Tennessee
  • The MetroHealth System, Cleveland
  • TriHealth, Inc., Cincinnati
  • Winthrop-University Hospital, Mineola, New York

Supplier Legacy Award

The following suppliers received the Supplier Legacy Award for their longstanding work to support Premier members through exceptional local customer service and engagement, value creation through clinical excellence and commitment to lower costs.

  • ARJOHUNTLEIGH
  • CDW Healthcare
  • Contec, Inc.
  • Draeger Medical Inc.
  • Fresenius Kabi USA
  • FujiFilm SonoSite, Inc.
  • Halyard Health
  • Jennie-O Turkey Store
  • Mannington Commercial
  • Medical Action Industries Inc.
  • Morris & Dickson Co., LLC
  • Owens & Minor, Inc.
  • Patterson Medical
  • PaxVax, Inc.
  • Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics
  • Witt/Kieffer
  • ZOLL Medical Corporation

Supplier Horizon Award

The following suppliers received the Horizon Award for displaying the same qualities as Legacy Award recipients, but with less tenure.

  • Bob's Red Mill Natural Foods, Inc.
  • CooperSurgical, Inc.
  • GE OEC Medical Systems, Inc.
  • RightSourcing, Inc.
  • Tarkett
  • TESCO BUS
  • Trinity Biotech
  • Welch Allyn​
  • Zimmer, Inc.

The full list of 2015 Premier Breakthroughs Award recipients can be found here.

About Premier, Inc.

Premier, Inc. (Nasdaq:PINC) is a leading healthcare improvement company, uniting an alliance of approximately 3,400 U.S. hospitals and 110,000 other providers to transform healthcare. With integrated data and analytics, collaboratives, supply chain solutions, and advisory and other services, Premier enables better care and outcomes at a lower cost. Premier, a Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award recipient, plays a critical role in the rapidly evolving healthcare industry, collaborating with members to co-develop long-term innovations that reinvent and improve the way care is delivered to patients nationwide. Headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., Premier is passionate about transforming American healthcare. Please visit Premier's news and investor sites on www.premierinc.com; as well as Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, Instagram, Foursquare and Premier's blog for more information about the company.

CONTACT: Morgan Bridges-Guthrie, Premier, Inc.; Morgan_Bridges@PremierInc.com; 704.816.4152