Corewell Health System

Spectrum Health Recognized for Supply Chain Services

Listed in Top 25 in Nation

December 12, 2018

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich., December 12, 2018 – Spectrum Health took a leap ahead in national rankings for health care industry supply chain management.

Gartner, Inc. recently released its 10th annual Healthcare Supply Chain Top 25 ranking. The ranking recognizes organizations across the health care value chain that demonstrate leadership in improving human life at sustainable costs.

Spectrum Health was listed in 24^th place this year, jumping nine spots from 2017.

“I am proud of our team in Supply Chain Services for breaking into the top 25 with Gartner as the one of the national leaders in Supply Chain Services in health care,” said Kurt Knoth, vice president, system supply chain, Spectrum Health.

Supply Chain is a system wide support department that contracts, purchases, stores and delivers supplies for the organization. Items can range from a simple tongue depressor to advanced surgical robotics.

“Health care supply chains today face a multitude of challenges: increasing cost pressures and patient expectations as well as the need to keep up with rapid technology advancement, to name just a few,” said Stephen Meyer, senior director at Gartner. “In order to be successful, supply chains must sport a specific skill set that consists of patient focus, collaboration and network visibility. The top supply chains in this year’s ranking have embraced those skills and excelled in executing them.”

Knoth credits a systemwide planning and streamlining, as well as a reorganization of resources. There is also an increased focus on value that has increased organizational savings significantly, says Knoth.

“New requests now flow through a consistent process and are inclusive of clinical quality and outcomes, financial/reimbursement and operational assessments,” says Knoth. “We know we will continue to climb in the rankings due to all the great things we are all doing together. There are dozens of cost improvement projects that are being worked on at any given time. As an example, a recent initiative reduced over 30 different kinds of hand sanitizers down to three. By leveraging our buying power, we were able to save the health system over $30,000 per year.”

People are at the heart of everything we do, and the inspiration for our legacy of outstanding outcomes, innovation, strong community partnerships, philanthropy and transparency. Corewell Health is a not-for-profit health system that provides health care and coverage with an exceptional team of 60,000+ dedicated people—including more than 11,500 physicians and advanced practice providers and more than 15,000 nurses providing care and services in 21 hospitals, 300+ outpatient locations and several post-acute facilities—and Priority Health, a provider-sponsored health plan serving more than 1.3 million members. Through experience and collaboration, we are reimagining a better, more equitable model of health and wellness. For more information, visit corewellhealth.org.

Contact:
Sarina Gleason
Media Relations
Phone: 517.256.5618
Email: sarina.gleason@corewellhealth.org

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