Sysmex America Honored by Premier healthcare alliance for Exceptional Supplier Performance

MUNDELEIN, Ill., June 10 /PRNewswire/ -- Sysmex America, Inc. today announced that it is a winner of the fifth annual Pinnacle Award, presented by the Premier healthcare alliance.

Premier contracts with more than 800 suppliers and Sysmex America is one of 38 contracted suppliers to receive the Pinnacle Award. Winners are recognized for their outstanding management of Premier agreements and drive toward the mutual goal of providing clinical and financial value to the not-for-profit hospitals that are members of the Premier alliance.

"On behalf of the employees and board of directors of Sysmex America, we are honored to be recognized by Premier for our company's fourth Pinnacle Award. It is especially gratifying to know that an award based on meeting customers' expectations of performance and customer service comes at such a pivotal time in our nation's healthcare landscape.  It is this type of working partnership that mutually benefits our nation's healthcare providers and the patients within the communities in which they serve," said John Kershaw, President and CEO, Sysmex America, Inc.   Since the award program's inception in 2006, Sysmex America, the only Premier-contracted hematology vendor to ever win the Pinnacle Award, has won four Pinnacle Awards and one Premier Performance Award, added Kershaw.

Bonnie Streeter, MSA, MT (ASCP) SH, DLM, National Accounts Manager, Sysmex America, accepted the award at the 2010 Premier Annual Breakthroughs Conference and Exhibition in Washington. The award ceremony was held at the Gaylord National Hotel and Convention Center on Wednesday, June 9.

"The Pinnacle Award honors Premier valued suppliers that strive for collaboration and performance excellence to benefit the alliance and we are honored to recognize these top performers," said Premier Purchasing Partners president Mike Alkire.

Premier's Pinnacle Award is intended to reward Premier's contracted suppliers that support attainment of mutual goals, drive contract utilization and are committed to performance improvement.

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

About the Premier healthcare alliance, 2006 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award recipient

Premier is a performance improvement alliance of more than 2,300 U.S. hospitals and 67,000-plus other healthcare sites working together to achieve high quality, cost-effective care. Owned by not-for-profit hospitals, Premier maintains the nation's most comprehensive repository of clinical, financial and outcomes information and operates a leading healthcare purchasing network. A world leader in helping deliver measurable improvements in care, Premier works with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and the United Kingdom's National Health Service North West to improve hospital performance. Headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., Premier also has offices in San Diego, Philadelphia and Washington. www.premierinc.com

About Sysmex America, Inc.

Sysmex America, Inc., the U.S. headquarters of Sysmex Corporation (Kobe, Japan), is a world leader in clinical laboratory systemization and solutions, including clinical diagnostics, automation and information systems.  Serving customers for over 35 years, Sysmex focuses on extending the boundaries of diagnostic science while providing the management information tools that make a real difference in clinical and operational results for people worldwide.  For more information about Sysmex, please visit www.sysmex.com/usa.

SOURCE Sysmex America, Inc.