IRVING, Texas, April 28, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- VHA Inc., the national healthcare network, today announced the presentation of its President's Award of Honor to three member health care systems for performance related  achievements over the course of 2013. The awards were presented to Providence Health and Services, Sanford Health and Yale-New Haven Hospital on Sunday, April 27 during VHA's Navigating to Excellence Forum in Las Vegas.

"Each year VHA hosts a national meeting for our members where peers can discuss common challenges, share learnings and talk with industry experts who are leading change in their organizations. As part of our meeting, we present our Excellence awards, recognizing member health care systems that have raised the bar through their performance in supply chain management, clinical care and sustainability," said Colleen Risk, VHA executive vice president, member networks and human resources. "The President's Award of Honor is a special recognition for health care systems that won Excellence awards in more than one category."

Providence Health and Services qualified for the President's award by winning four Excellence awards in supply chain management. Sanford Health was recognized by receiving Excellence awards in supply chain management and clinical care. Yale-New Haven Hospital received the President's award by earning Excellence awards in supply chain management and sustainability.

"This year we are extremely excited to have three member hospitals qualify for this special award," said Risk. "These savvy leaders are mapping the path to cost and quality of care improvements required in order to thrive in today's health care environment. Our hope is that by recognizing these hospitals for their success, other health systems will apply these leading practices in their own organizations to drive better results."

VHA's Navigating to Excellence Forum is being held April 27-29. This event will offer more than 35 educational sessions hosted by thought-leaders from healthcare systems and research and policy organizations from across the country, as well as VHA subject matter experts.

About VHA
VHA Inc. is a national network of not-for-profit health care organizations working together to improve performance and efficiency in clinical, financial and operational management. Since 1977, when VHA established the first hospital membership organization, the company has applied its knowledge in analytics, contracting, consulting and network development to help members and customers achieve their strategic objectives. In 2012, VHA delivered $1.9 billion in savings and additional value to members. Serving 5,100 health system members and affiliates, VHA represents more than a quarter of the nation's hospitals. VHA also serves more than 118,000 non-acute health care customers enterprise-wide. VHA is based in Irving, Texas, and has 12 regional offices across the U.S. VHA, together with UHC, owns Novation, a supply chain company, and its subsidiary aptitude^TM , the health care industry's first online direct market for contracting. VHA also owns Provista, a supply chain company serving the non-acute market as well as hospitality, education, corporate and government markets. For more information, visit www.vha.com and follow us on Twitter (@VHAInc).

SOURCE VHA Inc.