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CONTACT:
Amanda Forster
Premier Inc.
202.879.8004

Alven Weil
Premier Inc.
704.733.5797

Premier healthcare alliance names Craig McKasson chief financial officer

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (December 11, 2009) – Craig McKasson, the Premier healthcare alliance's vice president of finance and corporate controller, will be promoted to senior vice president and chief financial officer (CFO) effective January 1, 2010. As CFO, McKasson will join Premier's executive leadership team and will report directly to Susan DeVore, Premier's president and CEO. McKasson will replace Ann Rhoads, who is resigning her position after 11 years of service, following a recently announced office consolidation that is expected to be complete by February 2011.

During Rhoads' tenure, the volume of Premier's supply chain business increased to more than $32 billion with revenues doubling to more than $600 million. She has been instrumental in Premier's strategic decisions as to business acquisitions and divestitures.

"With extensive experience managing Premier's financials under Ann Rhoads, Craig is the ideal candidate to serve as CFO. His promotion is a testament to Ann's leadership and Premier's internal succession planning," said DeVore. "Ann was a valued member of our executive team and we will regret her departure, but I am confident that Craig will follow her legacy to provide sound financial strategy to Premier and members of our alliance."

As CFO, McKasson will have responsibility for the financial affairs of Premier, including strategic financial planning, internal and external financial reporting, corporate forecasting, tax compliance and planning, treasury services and investor relations. He will also oversee Premier's corporate information technology division. McKasson will also manage the transition of San Diego-based employees to Premier's Charlotte headquarters.

McKasson has served as vice president of finance and corporate controller since 1997. In this capacity he has overseen Premier's accounting department and managed corporate financial reporting. Before joining Premier, McKasson was a licensed Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and a consulting manager at Ernst & Young LLP, providing audit, tax and consulting services for various privately held development companies, as well as multistate publicly traded organizations. McKasson holds master's and bachelor's degrees in accounting from San Diego State University.

About the Premier healthcare alliance, Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award recipient
Premier is a performance improvement alliance of more than 2,500 U.S. hospitals and 80,000-plus other healthcare sites using the power of collaboration to lead the transformation to high quality, cost-effective care. Owned by hospitals, health systems and other providers, 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 has worked 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 an office in Washington. https://premierinc.com. Stay connected with Premier on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.