Ascent Secures Top Supply Chain Contract from Premier

Ascent, a leader in delivering healthcare resource sustainability, is proud to announce it has been awarded a single-source contract for reprocessing services under the ASCEND (Accelerated Supply Chain Endeavor) program with the Premier healthcare alliance, a performance improvement alliance of more than 2,400 U.S. hospitals and 70,000 healthcare sites. Effective Feb. 1, 2011, the contract is available to the 120 members of ASCEND and underscores the role of Ascent’s single-use medical device reprocessing programs in enhancing supply chain cost savings. The ASCEND program is designed to help Premier members achieve and maintain rapid improvements in supply chain performance. It offers benchmarking metrics to help Premier members uncover supply chain and operational cost savings on top of savings they are already receiving from the Premier contract. “Premier has a long-standing reputation for its results-oriented approach to supply chain performance improvement, so it’s a privilege for our reprocessing programs to be recognized for their ability to help hospitals reach Premier’s high standard of excellence,” said Kevin Liszewski, vice president, corporate accounts, Ascent. “We look forward to continuing to help Premier members maximize their cost savings from reprocessing, allowing them to redirect additional resources to patient care quality initiatives.” With reprocessed devices costing approximately half that of single-use OEM devices, reprocessing programs have become proven solutions for addressing medical, economic and environmental responsibilities without compromising safety or efficacy. In 2009, Ascent’s reprocessing services saved Premier members a collective $32.8 million in supply costs. The 2010 cost savings are estimated to grow by as much as 18 percent. About Ascent: A Stryker Sustainability Solution Ascent, a division of Stryker Corporation, is the leading provider of reprocessing (cleaning, testing/verifying, packaging and sterilizing) and remanufacturing (disassembling, repairing and manufacturing) services for medical devices as well as comprehensive recycling and redistribution initiatives. Stryker is the only global OEM to offer innovative, cost-effective sustainability solutions, like Ascent’s reprocessing and remanufacturing programs, to help meet the demands of its hospital partners. Specifically, Ascent’s programs target inefficient practices and reclaim and redirect consumable and financial resources in order to promote healthy and responsible hospitals. Ascent’s customers include most of the “Honor Roll” hospitals recognized by U.S. News & World Report. About Premier Premier is a performance improvement alliance of more than 2,400 U.S. hospitals and 70,000-plus other healthcare sites working together to achieve high quality, cost-effective care. Owned by not-for-profit hospitals, Premier maintains the nation's most comprehensive repository of clinical, financial and outcomes information and operates a leading healthcare purchasing network. A world leader in helping deliver measurable improvements in care, Premier works with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and the United Kingdom's National Health Service North West to improve hospital performance. Headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., Premier also has offices in San Diego, Philadelphia and Washington.