Premier helps PA hospital reorganize purchasing and save $700,000-plus
Evangelical Community Hospital is a not-for-profit community hospital that offers a full continuum of care. The hospital began in 1926 with three doctors. Now there is a staff of more than 1,000. Located in Lewisburg, Pa., the hospital serves Lycoming, Northumberland, Snyder and Union counties through the Evangelical Medical Services Organization.
Situation:
Evangelical Community Hospital (ECH) was experiencing increased volumes but struggling with how to increase capacity while streamlining its operations. EHC was without a materials manager, departments issued their own purchase orders and executed their own contracts, the materials management information system was not functional, and there was insufficient compliance with existing contracts.
Solution:
ECH partnered with Premier to find ways to lower their supply chain costs. They used the SupplyFocus™ database to compare ECH’s performance against national benchmarks, which helped highlight and prioritize what areas to target. Premier provided an interim supply chain executive to reorganize and changed the hospital to Premier contracts.
Result:
In just nine months, ECH experienced $700,000 in contract savings, has significantly increased contract compliance, and anticipates a supply cost reduction of more than $1 million annually.
"Premier brought a depth and breadth of expertise – and not just in the
supply chain areas – that we just would not have had otherwise. It includes
access to experts in the consulting area, as well as relationships with key
vendors. These relationships have been critical and have allowed us to
accelerate our success and achieve remarkable results in a very short period of
time. We couldn’t be more pleased."
Christine Martin
Chief Financial Officer
Evangelical Community Hospital