FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Niki Burgdorf
Senior Communications Specialist
Sisters of Mercy Health System www.mercy.net
v: 314.628-3603
f: 314.628-3734
e: nburgdorf@corp.mercy.net

Sisters of Mercy Health System Introduces Private Label Products

ST. LOUIS, MO (July 5, 2007) – The Sisters of Mercy Health System (Mercy) and its supply chain operating division, Resource Optimization & Innovation (ROi), have launched their own line of private label clinical products under the “Mercy–The Mark of Quality” brand. The products are produced for use in Mercy’s 19 hospitals and affiliated physician offices.

Private label brand products are common commercially and in healthcare. However, Mercy’s approach to them is not, according to Vance Moore, president of ROi. In order to produce these products, ROi’s group purchasing organization contracts directly with the manufacturers of name brand clinical products to produce specification-driven products that are of equal or higher quality than the name brand products previously used in Mercy’s facilities.

“Mercy is uniquely positioned to develop our own branded products to improve quality while practicing good stewardship,” said Moore. “Having our own internal group purchasing organization enables us to negotiate contracts with manufacturers that assure product quality while reducing costs to our hospitals and physicians.”

Mercy focuses on the needs of clinicians as private label products are developed. Through the ROiAligned supply chain contracting strategy, clinical input is sought regarding standards and specifications that products should meet, and which products and brands will be considered for Mercy’s private label. This approach helps Mercy to ensure that clinical needs are met and product quality is maintained.

“One of the things that makes our private label program unique is that we actively involve clinicians from the very beginning,” said Gary Kane, vice president of group purchasing. “Because we contract directly with the manufacturer, we can focus on clinical specifications, rather than on the brand name.”

Another defining aspect of Mercy’s private label program is the role of Mercy’s Springfield, Missouri-based Consolidated Services Center (CSC), a centralized supply and distribution warehouse, in the supply chain. Bulk supplies of products are stocked at the CSC for direct distribution to Mercy’s facilities five days a week, via a fleet of owned 18-wheeler trucks and other vehicles. In fact, a truck from Mercy’s fleet can be sent to pick up an order directly from the manufacturer, if needed. These resources take cost out of the delivery system for the manufacturer, which in turn leads to cost savings for Mercy.

The first products manufactured under the “Mercy–The Mark of Quality” brand are already in use at Mercy’s facilities. They include gauze packing strips and Xeroform gauze manufactured by Princeton, New Jersey-based Derma Sciences, Inc. Under a multi-year Private Label Purchasing Agreement signed by Mercy and Derma Sciences, other Derma Sciences products that are under consideration for the “Mercy–The Mark of Quality” label are undergoing product evaluation by Mercy clinicians.

Additional clinical products from a number of leading manufacturers, such as wound care products, EKG chart and monitoring papers, and IV start kits, are being considered for future inclusion in Mercy’s private label line of products.

“We have instituted a private label program to ensure that only the highest quality products reach our patients,” said John Sullivan, Mercy president and chief executive officer. “It is a direct reflection of our concern for patient safety and our commitment to deliver the highest quality of healthcare possiblle."

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About Mercy
The Sisters of Mercy Health System (Mercy) operates hospitals, physician practices, outpatient clinics, health plans and related health and human services in a seven state area including Arkansas, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma and Texas. Its members include 18 acute care hospitals providing more than 4,000 licensed beds, a heart hospital, a managed care subsidiary (Mercy Health Plans), physician practices, outpatient care facilities, home health programs, skilled nursing services and long-term care facilities. Services are provided by approximately 28,000 co-workers and 4,450 medical staff members who are employed or practice at Mercy facilities. Mercy is the 9th largest Catholic health care system in the U.S. based on net patient service revenue and is sponsored by the Sisters of Mercy–St. Louis Regional Community.

 

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