$2 Million Savings for Bon Secours Mercy Health Result of Weeklong Clinical Standardization Summit

NORTHFIELD, Ill., July 19, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- The first ever Medline-hosted Clinical Standardization Summit for recently combined Bon Secours Mercy Health drove $2.1 million in immediate savings for the organization, the system and Medline announced today. The in-person workshop, a new Medline program for healthcare providers and supply chain teams, was designed to bring together otherwise disparate regional and clinical expertise to dramatically condense product sampling and discussion. Additionally, the event delivered immediate changes and outcomes through this unique collaboration.

"We put these groups together to look at policies and protocols so we can fine tune them," says Amy Whitaker, RN, BSN and VP of Supply Chain Clinical Integration, Bon Secours Mercy Health. "By taking the best of the best between the two groups, the outcome is far superior to what we've had independently which only further strengthens our desire to improve care and outcomes."

Improving Care Quality with Collaboration
Teams consisted of experts spanning clinical, infection prevention and supply chain – many of whom never had met in person despite working together for years via conference calls. The groups drove the following:

• Tackled standardization across 12 product categories
• 44 percent SKU reduction
• Lowered number of manufacturers from 250 to 48

"Standardization is vital for direct patient caregivers because we want to do the same thing every time we do a particular task or procedure. That provides reliability for the patient and improves our patient outcomes overall," says Anne Macy, system director for infection prevention, Bon Secours Mercy Health. 

Integrated Partnership and Clinical Solutions
Attendees also approved three clinical solutions programs for the entire system. Skin Health Solutions empowers frontline staff to consistently deliver evidence-based best practices for skin and wound care. Additionally, teams are already working side-by-side to gather baseline information to design ways to fight two of the most common healthcare-associated infections: catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTIs) and central line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSIs).

• Medline ERASE CAUTI assessments are nearly finalized at all legacy Mercy Health locations and now moving to legacy Bon Secours locations to identify opportunities for driving sustainable practice change.
• Teams are working at the bedside with infection preventionists at more than a dozen hospitals within the ministry to identify a baseline for how line placements, dressing changes, and overall vascular access practices and protocols are performed as part of the ERASE BSI program. In just three weeks, more than 200 lines were reviewed.

"This collaboration truly elevates what it means to be an integrated partner," says Kyle Hoffman, market director, Medline. "Seeing these unique discussions unfold was incredibly gratifying for everyone around the table. Teams are quite eager to build upon these supply chain decisions and dig into how reducing practice variation through intuitive design and evidence based practice can improve patient outcomes."  

The Medline Newsroom takes you behind the scenes of the weeklong experience at https://youtu.be/5XaSKfhQkIE.

Learn more about how Medline works with customers to customize financial and clinical solutions at https://www.medline.com/pages/who-we-serve/idn/.

About Medline
Medline is a healthcare company: manufacturer, distributor and solutions provider focused on improving the overall operating performance of healthcare. Medline works with both the country's largest healthcare systems and independent facilities across the continuum of care to provide the clinical and supply chain resources required for long-term financial viability in delivering high quality care. With the size of one of the country's largest companies and the agility of a family-owned business, Medline is able to invest in its customers for the long-term and rapidly respond with customized solutions. Headquartered in Northfield, Ill., Medline has 20,000+ employees worldwide and does business in more than 90 countries. Learn more about Medline at www.medline.com.

About Bon Secours Mercy Health
For nearly 200 years, the historical founders of Bon Secours Mercy Health have been providing care to those in need. Today, the ministry is one of the top 20 health systems in the United States and part of the top performing quartile of Catholic health systems for lowest cost per case for patient care. This quality care is provided by more than 57,000 employees serving communities throughout Florida, Kentucky, Maryland, New York, Ohio, South Carolina and Virginia. The health care ministry provided care for patients more than 10.3 million times in 2017 through its network of more than 1,000 care sites. Consistent with its commitment to serve each patient with dignity, Bon Secours Mercy Health provides nearly $2 million per day in community benefit. The Mission of Bon Secours Mercy Health is to extend the compassionate ministry of Jesus by improving the health and well-being of its communities and bring good help to those in need, especially people who are poor, dying and underserved. Learn more about Bon Secours Mercy Health at https://bsmhealth.org. 

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