Sentara Healthcare System Strengthens Relationship With VHA

IRVING, TX -- 01/10/2005 -- Sentara Healthcare System, Norfolk, Va., has strengthened its affiliation with VHA Inc., the national health care cooperative. Through a new three-year agreement, Sentara and VHA will collaborate to develop a customized supply chain management resource to reduce supply costs for the Sentara Healthcare.

“Sentara is one of the largest health care systems in the Central Atlantic region,” said Stuart B. Baker, M.D., executive vice president at VHA, “and we are pleased it has elected to enhance its relationship with VHA.”

Sentara will continue to channel purchases of medical-surgical supplies, pharmaceuticals, capital equipment, food products, lab equipment and other supplies through VHA’s supply company, Novation. In 2004, Sentara estimates it will purchase nearly $172 million in supplies and services through VHA contracts.

“We considered several opportunities to partner with other organizations that provide similar services,” said Carl Manley Vice President of Materials Management, “but VHA’s custom supply chain management approach provides a comprehensive range of opportunities to reduce supply costs. Our plan is to utilize VHA and Novation resources where practical to optimize supply chain performance, reduce products costs, and improve our overall efficiency.”

About Sentara Healthcare System

Sentara Healthcare, a premier not-for-profit health care provider in southeastern Virginia and northeastern North Carolina, is comprised of more than 70 sites of care including 6 acute care hospitals, a hospital for extended recovery, 2 outpatient care campuses, 7 nursing centers, 3 assisted living centers, and 25 primary care practices. Sentara also offers a full range of award-winning health coverage plans, home health and hospice services, physical therapy and rehabilitation services, mobile diagnostic vans, and ground and air medical transport services, including Nightingale -- the region’s only air ambulance service. Sentara also was the first in the nation to pioneer and develop eICU®, an electronic intensive care treatment system. Striving to improve the wellness of the community, Sentara continues to participate in national and international research trials as a means to increase the medical options available to patients well into the future. Sentara Healthcare has consistently ranked among the nation’s top integrated health care networks as published in Modern Healthcare magazine. Garnering the No.1 position in the U.S. in 2001,Sentara is the only health care system on the East Coast to be ranked in the nation’s top 10 all seven years the survey has been conducted. For more information on Sentara Healthcare, visit www.sentara.com.

About VHA

VHA Inc., based in Irving, Texas, is a national cooperative of leading not-for-profit health care organizations that work together to improve the health of the communities they serve. VHA leverages the collective strength of the membership to improve clinical, operational and financial performance. Through the VHA cooperative, members access resources that help them assess critical needs and identify best practices to create customized solutions that lower costs and improve clinical quality. As a cooperative, VHA distributes income annually to members based on their participation.

Contact Information

Lynn Gentry

VHA Inc.

VHA Inc.

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