Becker's Hospital Review

74 SUPPLY CHAIN 4 Major Health Systems Announce New Marketplace for 'Green' Products By Shannon Barnet L ebanon, N.H.-based Dartmouth- Hitchcock; San Francisco-based Dignity Health; La Crosse, Wis.-based Gundersen Health System; and Boston- based Partners HealthCare have collaborated with Health Care Without Harm and Practice Greenhealth to create a new marketplace for healthy and environmentally safe products. e partners announced the marketplace May 17. e goal of the marketplace, called Greenhealth Exchange, is to accelerate the purchase and use of low-toxicity, low-carbon products by making such items easier to access and less expensive to purchase. "Greenhealth Exchange will enable more hospitals to abandon materials that are potentially harmful to the planet and public health in exchange for safer alternatives," said Gary Cohen, president and founder of Health Care Without Harm and Practice Greenhealth. "We need to detox our economy in order to address our nation's chronic disease burden and healthcare is perfectly positioned to lead the way toward that healthier future." All together, the four healthcare systems that have helped found the effort include 54 hospitals comprised of more than 11,000 beds, $21.2 billion in annual revenues and more than $4 billion in purchasing power. "What we buy matters to our patients, to our staff and to the natural resources that our great-grandchildren will depend on," said Dartmouth-Hitchcock Vice President of Supply Chain Curtis Lancaster. "We are committed to achieving the healthiest population possible for generations to come. Investing in Greenhealth Exchange means multiplying our purchasing power and helping to move the marketplace." e parties involved in the Greenhealth Exchange effort are currently working on adding new members and developing a network of suppliers. e purchasing cooperative also has plans to launch an online catalog on prescreened green products this fall. n Cone Health Sees Operating Margin Fall as Supply Costs Creep Upward By Ayla Ellison G reensboro, N.C.-based Cone Health recorded operating income of $16.7 million for the six months ended March 31, down 39.8 percent from operating income of $27.8 million in the same period of the year prior. The six-hospital system reported revenue increased nearly 10 percent year over year, according to its unaudited financial statement. The financial boost was partially attributable to growth in patient service revenue. Although Cone Health saw inpatient volume dip slightly in the six months that ended March 31, outpatient volume, surgical cases and emergency room visits were up. However, rising expenses offset the system's revenue gains. Overall, expenses crept up 11.9 percent over the year prior, with costs associated with supplies increasing 14.2 percent. The system said supplies for intensive inpatient surgeries and drug expenses for cancer treatments largely drove the cost increase. Cone Health ended the six-month period with a 2 percent operating margin, down from a 3.7 percent operating margin in the same period a year earlier. n 12 Healthcare Organizations Win ECRI Healthcare Supply Chain Achievement Award By Tamara Rosin T welve healthcare organizations are winners of the fifth annual Healthcare Supply Chain Achievement Award from the ECRI Institute. The prestigious award honors healthcare organizations that demonstrate excellence in overall spend management and in adopting best practice solutions in their supply chain processes. The 2016 winners include: Children's Hospital Los Angeles Greenville (S.C.) Health System Mountain States Health Alliance — Johnson City, Tenn. NCH Healthcare System — Naples, Fla. Parkland — Dallas (three-year winner) Piedmont HealthCare — Atlanta ProMedica — Toledo, Ohio (two-year winner) Reading Health System — West Reading, Pa. Stanford Health Care and Stanford Children's Health — Palo Alto, Calif. Summit Health — Chambersburg, Pa. University of Vermont Health Network — Burlington WellSpan Health — York, Pa. n

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