Carle Foundation Hospital achieves $1.1 million in supply chain savings

The Carle Foundation Hospital, a 295-bed facility located in Urbana, IL, participated in its third Supply Chain Collaborative Breakthrough Series (SCCBTS) and sent teams to address all four tracks. Total savings from their improvement efforts topped $1.1 million.

After participating in the first annual SCCBTS in the supply chain track and the second SCCBTS in the operating room track, Carle Foundation Hospital leaders determined that the cardiac cath lab track offered significant savings opportunities for their organization. They had never before addressed issues in the cath lab, since the facility had only recently been purchased by the hospital from a separate physician organization.

&8220;Our cath lab was new to using the Premier portfolio,&8221; said Debbie Schmidt, Director of Materials Management for Carle Foundation Hospital. &8220;We knew there would be savings by utilizing the contract portfolio.&8221; One of the organization&8217;s main goals was to re-negotiate the contract for cardiac rhythm management products and standardize with a single supplier. The cath lab team included physicians in their negotiation process, which created the buy-in critical for the team&8217;s success.

The team brought in three vendors to meet with the physicians, and in each meeting, the vendors heard the physicians state that they were comfortable using products from any of the vendors. Through this crucial physician support, vendors understood the competitive nature of the situation, causing them to offer more competitive pricing for Carle Foundation Hospital. The organization eventually negotiated with a single vendor and will receive a substantial rebate when certain commitment levels are reached. This effort, along with other contract initiatives, helped the hospital to realize more than $300,000 in savings in the cath lab.

The Carle Foundation Hospital perioperative team also achieved cost savings success by gaining buy-in from the users of custom packs and gowns. Due to the established preferences of surgeons and nurses, changing vendors for these items is often very difficult, But the multi-disciplinary team was able to review the Premier pricing and select vendors who spent several days on site at the hospital, allowing staff members to try on the gowns and &8221;test drive&8221; the custom packs. The team wanted to be certain that all staff were happy with the protection and comfort levels offered by the new gowns and drapes. Together, the change in vendors for gowns and custom packs will save the hospital more than $290,000 annually.

As a direct result of the SCCBTS, a permanent Carle Foundation Hospital team has been established, made up of materials management staff, operating room staff, and sterile processing staff. Buyers in each area, as well as an educator, are also members of the team. &8220;We realized after the first SCCBTS meeting that we would need all these people to work together in order to be successful,&8221; said Ms. Schmidt. &8220;Now, we meet regularly to share ideas and make decisions in a coordinated fashion. That has been critical to our success.&8221;

Carle Foundation Hospital achieves $1.1 million in supply chain savings

The Carle Foundation Hospital, a 295-bed facility located in Urbana, IL, participated in its third Supply Chain Collaborative Breakthrough Series (SCCBTS) and sent teams to address all four tracks. Total savings from their improvement efforts topped $1.1 million.

After participating in the first annual SCCBTS in the supply chain track and the second SCCBTS in the operating room track, Carle Foundation Hospital leaders determined that the cardiac cath lab track offered significant savings opportunities for their organization. They had never before addressed issues in the cath lab, since the facility had only recently been purchased by the hospital from a separate physician organization.

&8220;Our cath lab was new to using the Premier portfolio,&8221; said Debbie Schmidt, Director of Materials Management for Carle Foundation Hospital. &8220;We knew there would be savings by utilizing the contract portfolio.&8221; One of the organization&8217;s main goals was to re-negotiate the contract for cardiac rhythm management products and standardize with a single supplier. The cath lab team included physicians in their negotiation process, which created the buy-in critical for the team&8217;s success.

The team brought in three vendors to meet with the physicians, and in each meeting, the vendors heard the physicians state that they were comfortable using products from any of the vendors. Through this crucial physician support, vendors understood the competitive nature of the situation, causing them to offer more competitive pricing for Carle Foundation Hospital. The organization eventually negotiated with a single vendor and will receive a substantial rebate when certain commitment levels are reached. This effort, along with other contract initiatives, helped the hospital to realize more than $300,000 in savings in the cath lab.

The Carle Foundation Hospital perioperative team also achieved cost savings success by gaining buy-in from the users of custom packs and gowns. Due to the established preferences of surgeons and nurses, changing vendors for these items is often very difficult, But the multi-disciplinary team was able to review the Premier pricing and select vendors who spent several days on site at the hospital, allowing staff members to try on the gowns and &8221;test drive&8221; the custom packs. The team wanted to be certain that all staff were happy with the protection and comfort levels offered by the new gowns and drapes. Together, the change in vendors for gowns and custom packs will save the hospital more than $290,000 annually.

As a direct result of the SCCBTS, a permanent Carle Foundation Hospital team has been established, made up of materials management staff, operating room staff, and sterile processing staff. Buyers in each area, as well as an educator, are also members of the team. &8220;We realized after the first SCCBTS meeting that we would need all these people to work together in order to be successful,&8221; said Ms. Schmidt. &8220;Now, we meet regularly to share ideas and make decisions in a coordinated fashion. That has been critical to our success.&8221;