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Nacogdoches Memorial Cuts Hospital Costs by More Than $1 Million in Only Nine Months NACOGDOCHES, Texas----July 13, 2005--Nacogdoches Memorial Hospital (NMH) in the past nine months has identified savings of almost $1.1 million through participation in a supply chain improvement collaborative project sponsored by the Premier healthcare alliance.
However, shortly after beginning their work, Breakthrough Series team members at Nacogdoches Memorial became convinced that other areas of the hospital could benefit as well from the cost-saving skills they were learning to use. They took their ideas to Administrator Tim Hayward who endorsed them enthusiastically. In nine months nearly $1.1 million in savings have been identified and the total keeps climbing. Through April, total cath lab savings are nearly $600,000, $100,000 more than goal. Savings in other areas of the hospital are nearly $500,000. At the same time Nacogdoches Memorial has increased compliance with Premier purchasing contracts by 10 to 15 percent which will mean additional savings. An advantage of sharing ideas and benchmarking with other Premier hospitals, said Linnie Scarborough, NMH Inventory Control Manager, is that "we don't have to reinvent the wheel. There is no use in our trying something if another hospital has said 'we've tried that and it doesn't work so don't waste your time on it.'" For instance, Scarborough said, "We were able to get our physicians in the cath lab to switch to a less expensive drug that is shown to be as clinically effective as the more expensive drug." The Collaborative brings together Premier members who share a commitment to significant, rapid changes that produce measurable results in supply chain and high profile physician preference areas. Participants pledge to implement changes in a nine-month period that will significantly improve operations and potentially eliminate millions of dollars in supply-related expenses, with teams averaging more than $700,000 in savings. About Nacogdoches Memorial Hospital A community-owned, not-for-profit organization, Nacogdoches Memorial Hospital (NMH) has served the East Texas community of Nacogdoches, TX, for 75 years. NMH operates a busy and growing emergency department currently serving more than 30,000 patient visits a year and is a Level III trauma center. NMH offers surgical services, orthopedics, physical rehabilitation medicine, diagnostic cardiology, cardiac rehab, medical imaging and diabetes education as well as community clinics in Garrison, Cushing and Etoile. About Premier, Inc. Premier, Inc., is a healthcare alliance entirely
owned by more than 200 of the nation's leading
hospital and healthcare systems. These systems
operate or are affiliated with nearly 1,500
hospital facilities and hundreds of other healthcare
sites. Premier provides an array of resources
supporting health services delivery including
group purchasing for more than $21 billion
annually in supplies and equipment. Other resources
offered by Premier are supply chain and clinical
performance improvement services and insurance
programs. Headquartered in San Diego, CA, Premier
has offices in Chicago, IL; Charlotte, NC;
and Washington, DC. |
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