Curt Selquist, Founding Chairman of GHX, Honored for Lifetime Healthcare Supply Chain Achievements by Bellwether League

LOUISVILLE, Colo., Oct. 5 /PRNewswire/ -- Curt M. Selquist, former company group chairman for Johnson & Johnson Healthcare Systems and the founding chairman of the board for GHX, will be inducted into the Bellwether League "hall of fame" in recognition of his lifelong achievements and contributions to the healthcare supply chain. Selquist and 14 other active and retired healthcare industry veterans will be honored for "intellectual and operational contributions to healthcare" at the league's Third Annual Honoree Induction Dinner, scheduled for Oct. 5 in Chicago.

Selquist was a key member of a group of visionaries that 10 years ago created GHX as an open and neutral, independent global trading exchange for healthcare. This group shared a common goal of making the supply chain more efficient and reducing costs, and they realized that it would take a critical mass of participants in the healthcare supply chain to make that happen. Together with GE Healthcare, Baxter, Abbott and Medtronic, Johnson & Johnson Health Care Systems announced the formation of GHX on March 29, 2000.

As the first chairman of the board for GHX, Selquist guided market consolidation that brought representatives of the entire healthcare supply chain into the GHX ownership mix. Most importantly, he played a major role in bringing the industry together to drive waste out of the supply chain and costs out of healthcare. As a result, GHX and its participating providers and suppliers have already documented more than $1.3 billion in savings from increased connectivity, automation and discrepancy reduction and are on track to cut another $5 billion from the cost of healthcare over the next five years.

"In large part because of Curt's vision, guidance and perseverance, hospitals and suppliers have made significant advances in the automation of their procure-to-pay processes. More importantly, providers and suppliers are working together to improve business processes and further reduce healthcare costs," said Bruce Johnson, president and CEO of GHX. "The legacy he leaves to healthcare is extensive."

Selquist has more than 35 years of operating experience in healthcare. He currently serves as an operating partner with Water Street Health Partners, a Chicago-based private equity firm that partners with healthcare companies to strategically grow their businesses and create companies of significant value. Previously, Selquist was company group chairman of Johnson & Johnson Medical and Johnson & Johnson Healthcare Systems. In 1989, he became president of Johnson & Johnson Latin America. He was named worldwide president of Johnson & Johnson, Merck Consumer Pharmaceuticals, in 1995, and became company group chairman, responsible for Johnson & Johnson Medical, in 1997.

About GHX

As the business hub for healthcare, Global Healthcare Exchange, LLC (GHX) enables healthcare providers and suppliers in North America and Europe to reduce costs and improve margins by automating processes, reducing operating expenses and increasing knowledge-based decision making.  Products and services include trading partner connectivity, order and contract management and validation, data synchronization, sales force automation and business intelligence. Equity owners of GHX are Abbott Exchange, Inc.; AmerisourceBergen Corp.; Baxter Healthcare Corp.; B. Braun Medical Inc.; BD; Boston Scientific Corp.; Cardinal Health, Inc.; Covidien; C.R. Bard, Inc.; Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc.; GE Healthcare; HCA; Johnson & Johnson Health Care Systems Inc.; McKesson Corp.; Medtronic USA, Inc.; Owens & Minor; Premier, Inc.; Siemens; University HealthSystem Consortium; and VHA Inc.  For more information, visit www.ghx.com.

SOURCE GHX