Palmetto Health and GHS Select UHC and Its Supply Contracting Company, Novation, for Supply Chain Services

CHICAGO, Jan. 8, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- UHC today announced that a new supply chain collaboration composed of Palmetto Health, a 1,138-bed system in Columbia, S.C., and Greenville Hospital System (GHS), a 1,268-bed system in Greenville, S.C., has chosen UHC and its supply contracting company, Novation, for its supply chain services. The 2 health systems, which joined UHC independently but will work cooperatively to maximize savings, represent more than $500 million in purchasing volume.

Palmetto Health and GHS will have access to UHC's full range of supply chain resources, which are used by the nation's leading academic medical centers and their affiliated organizations to manage supply costs and improve supply chain efficiencies while maintaining high-quality care. UHC supply chain optimization services include:

• Contracting through the national group purchasing company, Novation
• Aggregated regional contracting through Partners Cooperative, based in Atlanta, Ga.
• Integrated (clinical and supply chain) analytics
• Performance management
• Networking and education

"We are thrilled that Palmetto Health and GHS have chosen UHC, Novation, and Partners Cooperative to pursue supply chain savings opportunities," said Jake Groenewold, senior vice president of UHC's Supply Chain. "We look forward to building this new model of supply chain collaboration across these organizations. This new relationship will assist them in reducing supply costs while continuing to provide high-quality care."

About UHC
UHC, formed in 1984 and located in Chicago, Ill., is an alliance of the nation's leading nonprofit academic medical centers, which are focused on delivering world-class patient care. UHC fosters collaboration with and among its 118 academic medical center and 283 affiliated hospital members through its renowned programs and services in the areas of comparative data and analytics, performance improvement, supply chain management, strategic research, and public policy. UHC helps its members achieve excellence in quality, safety, and cost-effectiveness. For more information, visit uhc.edu.

About Palmetto Health
Palmetto Health, the largest healthcare system and non-governmental employer in South Carolina, is composed of more than 10,000 team members, physicians and volunteers working together to fulfill Palmetto Health's vision: to be remembered by each patient as providing the care and compassion we want for our families and ourselves. The system includes four acute-care hospitals—Palmetto Health Baptist, Palmetto Health Children's Hospital, Palmetto Health Heart Hospital and Palmetto Health Richland—as well as an expansive physician practice network, dozens of affiliated clinics and specialty care practices, and a 501(c)(3) foundation. Palmetto Health Baptist Parkridge, the region's newest hospital located in northwest Columbia, is scheduled to open in December 2013. Recognized nationally as one of the best places to work and receive care, Palmetto Health also trains the next generation of physicians through its 23 residency and fellowship programs affiliated with the University of South Carolina School of Medicine. For more information, visit www.PalmettoHealth.org.

About Greenville Hospital System  
Greenville Hospital System (GHS) is committed to medical excellence through research, education and high-quality patient care. GHS offers patients a sophisticated network of expertise and technologies through its 5 medical campuses, tertiary medical center, research and education facilities, community hospitals, physician practices and numerous specialty facilities in upstate South Carolina. The 1,268-bed system is home to 14 medical residency and fellowship programs and the state's largest number of active clinical trials—600+. For the fourth consecutive year, its flagship Greenville Memorial Hospital was ranked among the nation's top 50 hospitals in a specialty area in U.S. News' America's Best Hospitals. In July 2012, the University of South Carolina School of Medicine Greenville opened a four-year medical school at GHS. For more information, visit ghs.org.

SOURCE UHC