Supply chain ‘hall of fame’ to honor 12 pioneers

Bellwether League Inc. celebrates the careers, contributions of a dozen men and women who made a difference in the profession

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Bellwether League Inc. (BLI) is a non-stock, not-for-profit Illinois corporation, tax exempt under IRS Code Section 501(c)(6). BLI donations and sponsorships are not deductible as a charitable contribution for income tax purposes, but may be deductible as a business expense.

SCHAUMBURG, IL (June 15, 2009) – Before healthcare reform became politically and culturally fashionable, 12 pioneering men and women brought their own innovative concepts and ideas for change in the industry.

Bellwether League Inc. (BLI), the healthcare supply chain “hall of fame,” selected these creative thinkers for their accomplishments and philosophies that promoted the principles and profession of supply chain management.

Schaumburg, IL-based BLI will recognize and honor the 12 as its Honoree Class of 2009 at its second annual induction dinner, scheduled for Oct. 6, 2009, at the Renaissance Chicago O’Hare Suites Hotel.

BLI plans to reveal the names of this year’s Honoree Class during the annual conference of the Association for Healthcare Resource & Materials Management in Tampa, FL, July 19-22. Three are former AHRMM presidents and one a former chairman of the Health Industry Distributors Association (HIDA).

Among BLI’s Honoree Class of 2009:

A metropolitan city purchasing agent during World War I who joined a hospital city council to develop the group’s nascent purchasing program
The first hire at a new hospital who developed the facility’s materials management department from scratch
A purchasing executive from a major airline who implemented product standardization, computerization and supplier partnerships at a top investor-owned hospital company in the 1970s and 1980s
A renowned executive who redefined the business of supply contracting at the nation’s oldest group purchasing organization in the 1960s and 1970s
One of the first hospital executives to plant a supply chain professional in the operating room in the 1980s to manage inventory and relationships with surgeons and nurses
A distributor executive who helped initiate electronic data interchange and bar coding between providers and suppliers in the 1960s and 1970s, and contributed to the career launch of a famous actor on a popular television show
An influential thought leader who advocated such concepts as exchange carts, automated washer-sterilizers, management engineering and space planning standards, centralized or regional shared services, nurse pocket pagers and zoned nursing in healthcare

BLI recognized its Class of 2008 Inductees on Oct. 28, 2008, at the Renaissance Chicago O’Hare Suites Hotel. That inaugural Class includes the late Dean S. Ammer, Ph.D., Lee C. Boergadine, Gene D. Burton, Charles E. Housley, Thomas W. Kelly, William J. McFaul, Tom Pirelli, Donald J. Siegle and Alex J. Vallas. Read each recipient’s bellwether profile online at www.bellwetherleague.org/honorees.html.

BLI honors supply chain professionals in five distinct categories. They are: Education & Media, Supply Chain Management, Group Purchasing, Vendor and Consultant. The Education & Media category includes college/university professors and researchers, publishers, editors and writers. The Supply Chain Management category includes professionals working at hospitals and other non-acute care facilities, hospital systems and integrated delivery organizations. The Group Purchasing category includes professionals from among the national, regional, state, metropolitan and local group purchasing programs. The Vendor category includes professionals employed by manufacturers and distributors of products and services purchased by healthcare providers. The Consultant category includes those professionals advising, instructing and motivating healthcare supply chain management professionals as the primary focus of their practice over the years.

Anyone can nominate a qualified professional for BLI Honoree recognition via BLI’s Web site at www.bellwetherleague.org. Qualifications include advancing the profession and industry influence, a minimum of 10 years work experience, work performance and a minimum of five years of active participation in professional organizations.

About Bellwether League Inc.

Launched in late July 2007 by a group of influential veterans in the healthcare supply chain industry, BLI identifies and honors individuals who have demonstrated significant leadership in and influence on and contributions to the healthcare supply chain, including professionals from hospitals, non-acute healthcare providers, manufacturers and distributors of healthcare products, group purchasing organizations, consulting firms and educational institutions.

BLI is funded by five Founding Sponsors – Hospira, Kimberly-Clark Health Care, MedAssets, Owens & Minor and Premier Purchasing Partners – and a host of additional charter, corporate and professional sponsors.

BLI selects individuals that meet its criteria to be publicly recognized and recorded in print and online media for their contributions in advancing and improving all segments of the healthcare supply chain. The criteria include ethics, innovation, integrity, leadership, longevity, mentoring, reputation, speaking, teaching, writing and volunteering.

The Board of Directors of BLI comprises a veteran group of industry advocates who volunteer their time and expertise to create and continually develop the organization and its ongoing educational activities. The Board includes:

Jamie C. Kowalski (co-founder and chairman), vice president, business development, Owens & Minor Inc., Milwaukee
Rick Dana Barlow (co-founder and executive director), president, Wingfoot Media Inc., Schaumburg, IL
Robert P. “Bud” Bowen (secretary), retired CEO, Amerinet Inc., St. Charles, MO
Patrick E. Carroll Jr. (treasurer), president, Patrick E. Carroll & Associates, Cypress, CA
James F. Dickow, director, supply chain management, facilities and operations consulting, Lerch Bates Inc., Mequon, WI
John B. Gaida, senior vice president, supply chain management, Texas Health Resources, Arlington, TX
Laurence A. Dickson, retired corporate director, materials management, Sisters of Providence Health System, Seattle
Thomas W. Hughes, executive director, Strategic Marketplace Initiative, Scituate, MA
Richard A. Perrin, president and CEO, AdvanTech Inc., Annapolis, MD
Derwood B. Dunbar Jr., president and CEO, MAGNET Co-op, Mechanicsburg, PA

For more information, to become a corporate or individual sponsor or to nominate honoree candidates visit BLI’s Web site at www.bellwetherleague.org.

Supply chain ‘hall of fame’ seeks 2009 bellwethers

Bellwether League Inc. calls for honoree nominations

Bellwether League Inc.’s Class of 2008 Inductees
Front Row pictured from left to right: Tom Pirelli,
Christine Ammer (for Dean S. Ammer, Ph..D.) and
Gene D. Burton
Back Row pictured from left to right: Thomas W. Kelly,
Lee C. Boergadine and Alex J. Vallas
Not pictured: Charles E. Housley, William J. McFaul and
Donald J. Siegle

SCHAUMBURG, IL (January 20, 2009) – Do you know a bellwether in your organization? In your city or state? A real honest-to-goodness professional who is a creative thinker, takes the initiative, makes positive and impactful changes, and acts in a way that promotes the principles and profession of supply chain management?

If so, Bellwether League Inc. (BLI), the healthcare supply chain “hall of fame,” would like you to nominate him or her as it is currently seeking nominations for its Honoree Class of 2009, to be chosen this summer and recognized on Oct. 6, 2009, during its 2nd Annual Induction Dinner. Click here to download the BLI official nomination form.

Schaumburg, IL-based BLI, a 501c(6) not-for-profit corporation, recognized its Class of 2008 Inductees on Oct. 28, 2008, at the Renaissance Chicago O’Hare Suites Hotel. That inaugural Class included the late Dean S. Ammer, Ph.D., Lee C. Boergadine, Gene D. Burton, Charles E. Housley, Thomas W. Kelly, William J. McFaul, Tom Pirelli, Donald J. Siegle and Alex J. Vallas. Read each recipient’s bellwether profile online at www.bellwetherleague.org/honorees.html.

BLI seeks nominations in any of five distinct categories. They are: Education & Media, Supply Chain Management, Group Purchasing, Vendor and Consultant. The Education & Media category includes college/university professors and researchers, publishers, editors and writers. The Supply Chain Management category includes professionals working at hospitals and other non-acute care facilities, hospital systems and integrated delivery organizations. The Group Purchasing category includes professionals from among the national, regional, state, metropolitan and local group purchasing programs. The Vendor category includes professionals employed by manufacturers and distributors of products and services purchased by healthcare providers. The Consultant category includes those professionals advising, instructing and motivating healthcare supply chain management professionals as the primary focus of their practice over the years.

Nominees can be retired or currently active professionals. Anyone can nominate a qualified professional for BLI Honoree recognition via BLI’s Web site at www.bellwetherleague.org. Qualifications include advancing the profession and industry influence, a minimum of 10 years work experience, work performance and a minimum of five years of active participation in professional organizations. BLI’s official nomination form can be found on its Web site.

About Bellwether League Inc.

Launched in late July 2007 by a group of influential veterans in the healthcare supply chain industry, Bellwether League Inc. seeks to identify and honor individuals who have demonstrated significant leadership in and influence on and contributions to the healthcare supply chain, including professionals from hospitals, non-acute healthcare providers, manufacturers and distributors of healthcare products, group purchasing organizations, consulting firms and educational institutions.

BLI is funded by five Founding Sponsors to date – Hospira, Kimberly-Clark Health Care, MedAssets, Owens & Minor and Premier Purchasing Partners – and a host of additional charter, corporate and professional sponsors.

BLI plans to recognize its second group of honorees this summer and honor them at a recognition dinner in Chicago in early October, a schedule that will continue annually.

BLI selects individuals that meet its criteria to be publicly recognized and recorded in print and online media for their contributions in advancing and improving all segments of the healthcare supply chain. The criteria include ethics, innovation, integrity, leadership, longevity, mentoring, reputation, speaking, teaching, writing and volunteering.

The Board of Directors of BLI comprises a veteran group of industry advocates who have volunteered their time and expertise to create and continually develop the organization and its ongoing educational activities. The Board includes:

Jamie C. Kowalski (co-founder and chairman), vice president, business development, Owens & Minor Inc., Milwaukee, WI
Rick Dana Barlow (co-founder and executive director), president, Wingfoot Media Inc., Schaumburg, IL
Robert P. “Bud” Bowen (secretary), retired CEO, Amerinet Inc., St. Charles, MO
Patrick E. Carroll Jr. (treasurer), president, Patrick E. Carroll & Associates, Cypress, CA
James F. Dickow, director of supply chain management, facilities and operations consulting, Lerch Bates Inc., Mequon, WI
John B. Gaida, senior vice president of supply chain management, Texas Health Resources, Arlington, TX
Laurence A. Dickson, retired corporate director of materials management, Sisters of Providence Health System, Seattle, WA
Thomas W. Hughes, executive director, Strategic Marketplace Initiative, Scituate, MA
Richard A. Perrin, president and CEO, AdvanTech Inc., Annapolis, MD
Derwood B. Dunbar Jr., president and CEO, MAGNET Co-op, Mechanicsburg, PA

For more information, to become a corporate or individual sponsor or to nominate honoree candidates visit Bellwether League Inc.’s Web site at www.bellwetherleague.org. Additional photos available on request and online.

Supply chain ‘hall of fame’ fetes 9 leaders

Bellwether League Inc. honors the past to influence the future Click here to see Photo Gallery

SCHAUMBURG, IL (November 1, 2008) – During an elegant and emotionally charged ceremony, Bellwether League Inc. inducted the first nine honorees into its healthcare supply chain “hall of fame,” on Tuesday, October 28, at the Renaissance Chicago O’Hare Suites Hotel.

They are the late Dean S. Ammer, Ph.D., Lee C. Boergadine, Gene D. Burton, Charles E. Housley, Thomas W. Kelly, William J. McFaul, Tom Pirelli, Donald J. Siegle and Alex J. Vallas. Each recipient’s bellwether profile can be found on Bellwether League Inc.’s Web site at www.bellwetherleague.org.

Jamie Kowalski, chairman of the Schaumburg, IL-based organization, briefly introduced each Inductee of the Class of 2008 with reverence and thoughtful reflection befitting their bellwether status as industry innovators, leaders and pioneers.

Before a standing ovation, Christine Ammer, wife of the late Dean S. Ammer, Ph.D., expressed her pleasure at meeting people who knew her husband and her gratitude for his being so honored by the industry. Kowalski noted he still possesses Ammer’s first edition materials management book, something also echoed by many in the audience who nodded their heads in affirmation.

Lee C. Boergadine reflected on his career “from Peoria to here,” as characterized by Kowalski. He called his induction into Bellwether League “one of the most exciting and humbling evenings of my life, second only to the evening my wife Marty said ‘I do.’”

Boergadine then traced his professional and personal development as influenced by five of his fellow inductees. “There’s no more eloquent way to demonstrate what it is to be a bellwether than to be a young man in Central Illinois and have personal contact with my fellow honorees,” he concluded. “Thank you all for the part you played in my life.”

Kowalski recalled meeting with Burton for advice and how Burton gave him four-to-five hours of his time as a demonstration of Burton’s commitment to the profession.

The retired Burton expressed appreciation for being able to see people he hasn’t seen in years, thanked Bellwether League and his former employers and employees during his career, and capped his brief comments by thanking his wife of 63 years who was seated in the audience, next to Suzan Logan, who leads his consulting firm Gene Burton & Associates Inc.

Housley was unable to attend the ceremony, so Bellwether League Executive Director Rick Dana Barlow accepted the award on his behalf and read a brief personal statement from Housley where he called his induction a “prestigious honor,” one of the most meaningful in his career.

Kelly called it a “thrill” to receive Bellwether League’s award and a “capstone” to his career. “When I was a young buck getting started at GE, [a manager] told me there were four things you need for success: A good education (Kelly highlighted his Jesuit school in New York), work hard (he told audience members to ask his wife Mary in attendance about the dinners and parent-teacher conferences he missed), mentors (he cited two, his boss at Massachusetts General Hospital Randy McDonald and Bellwether League Board Member Tom Hughes) and you have to be lucky.”

McFaul was unable to attend the ceremony, so Barlow accepted the award for him and read a personal statement by him. McFaul noted that supply chain management’s accomplishments “weren’t due to better prices or lower inventory. Instead, they were attributable to the never-ending struggle to train and educate others that healthcare quality cannot improve nor can expenses be lowered without change.

“While the nation is focusing on insurance reform and this aspect of the industry is essential, unless quality and expense issues are addressed, insurance reform will merely shift unacceptable cost from one source to another,” he continued.

After crediting Bellwether League for highlighting supply chain achievements, McFaul expressed his honor for “having had the ability to work so closely with all of you – individuals who openly shared their knowledge and insights with the industry at large.”
Pirelli, who admitted being out of healthcare for 12 years, said he “dreaded” attending Bellwether League’s Induction Dinner because he “didn’t want to see how old we’ve become.”

Pirelli then turned serious when he indicated how much of a pleasure it was to work with all of those attending the ceremony during his 21-year healthcare career that spanned American Hospital Supply and launching the venerable Enterprise Systems Inc., a company that arguably brought personal computing to materials management and accelerated IT adoption and implementation in the industry.

Donald J. Siegle, who was recovering from major surgery was unable to attend, but Ronald Miller, president of Amerinet Central, accepted the award on his behalf.

Miller hailed Siegle for spending a lifetime in group purchasing and supply chain management, from his “humble beginnings” in the steel industry to his retirement in 1997 from a group purchasing organization, Amerinet Central’s forerunner Hospital Shared Services of Western Pennsylvania.

“Don gave more to supply chain management and group purchasing than he could ever have received, but he wouldn’t have it any other way,” Miller said.

Kowalski characterized Vallas as a “class act” who consistently asked, “‘is there a better way to do this?’”
Vallas expressed appreciation for being included in the first class of Bellwether League inductees, reflected on his 36-year career in supply chain management and then challenged attendees and supply chain management professionals alike to improve healthcare.

Sponsoring professionalism

Bellwether League Board Member John Gaida then presented the organization’s five Founding Sponsors – Hospira, Kimberly-Clark Health Care, MedAssets, Owens & Minor and Premier Purchasing Partners – with awards for their support.

Peter D. Baker, vice president and general manager, Hospira’s Commercial Service Operations, Hospira, accepted Bellwether League’s glass statue on his company’s behalf.

Keith Kuchta, vice president, North American Supplies at Kimberly-Clark Health Care, represented his company.

Rand Ballard, executive vice president and COO, MedAssets, and president, MedAssets Supply Chain Systems, accepted for his company.

Jamie C. Kowalski, vice president, business development, Owens & Minor, represented his firm, and Gaida accepted on behalf of Premier Purchasing Partners whose executives were participating in a strategic summit.

Honest, humble beginnings

As part of his opening remarks, Kowalski recalled Bellwether League’s conception during a telephone call with Barlow in the early spring of 2007, something that started as a conversational aside and blossomed rather quickly into an actionable project. The two founders recruited a Board of Directors from various segments of the industry to help forge the organization, incorporate it and file for not-for-profit tax status, along with evaluating and choosing the first nine honorees to recognize.

Kowalski marveled at reconnecting with people who, during the course of his more-than-35-year career, he “looked up to, learned from, tried to emulate; colleagues, competitors and collaborators, even former clients.” He also complimented Bellwether League’s Board of Directors as “successful, pioneering contributors in their own right,” emphasizing that none is eligible to be inducted for the first three years of Bellwether League’s existence or their seat on the Board, whichever was the longest time, to demonstrate ethics and integrity to earn the industry’s respect.

Barlow, during his introductory remarks, explained that they launched Bellwether League to honor the “people that power the supply chain,” which “represents an integral part of the foundation of our healthcare system – and one that has gone largely unacknowledged and unrecognized until now.”

Barlow further noted that Bellwether League was created to promote and generate mentors to help the supply chain progress long-term.

About Bellwether League Inc.

Launched in late July 2007 by a group of influential veterans in the healthcare supply chain industry, Bellwether League Inc. seeks to identify and honor individuals who have demonstrated significant leadership in and influence on and contributions to the healthcare supply chain, including professionals from hospitals, non-acute healthcare providers, manufacturers and distributors of healthcare products, group purchasing organizations, consulting firms and educational institutions.

Bellwether League Inc. plans to recognize its second group of honorees in April 2009 and honor them at a recognition dinner in Chicago in early October, a schedule that will continue annually.

Bellwether League Inc. selects individuals that meet its criteria to be publicly recognized and recorded in print and online media for their contributions in advancing and improving all segments of the healthcare supply chain. The criteria include ethics, innovation, integrity, leadership, longevity, mentoring, reputation, speaking, teaching, writing and volunteering.

The Board of Directors of Bellwether League Inc. comprises a veteran group of industry advocates who have volunteered their time and expertise to create and continually develop the organization and its ongoing educational activities. The Board includes:

Jamie C. Kowalski (co-founder and chairman), vice president of business development, Owens & Minor Inc., Milwaukee, WI
Rick Dana Barlow (co-founder and executive director), president, Wingfoot Media Inc., Schaumburg, IL
Robert P. “Bud” Bowen (secretary), retired CEO, Amerinet Inc., St. Charles, MO
Patrick E. Carroll Jr. (treasurer), president, Patrick E. Carroll & Associates, Cypress, CA
James F. Dickow, director of supply chain management, facilities and operations consulting, Lerch Bates Inc., Mequon, WI
John B. Gaida, senior vice president of supply chain management, Texas Health Resources, Arlington, TX
Laurence A. Dickson, retired corporate director of materials management, Sisters of Providence Health System, Seattle, WA
Thomas W. Hughes, executive director, Strategic Marketplace Initiative, Scituate, MA
Richard A. Perrin, president and CEO, AdvanTech Inc., Annapolis, MD
Derwood B. Dunbar Jr., president and CEO, MAGNET Co-op, Mechanicsburg, PA

Supply chain ‘hall of fame’ to induct 9

Bellwether League Inc. welcomes first group of leaders October 28

SCHAUMBURG, IL (October 8, 2008) – Bellwether League Inc., the Schaumburg, IL-based healthcare supply chain “hall of fame,” inducts its first group of industry pioneers in three weeks at its inaugural Honoree Induction Dinner in Chicago.
Nine supply chain innovators will be honored for their achievements and vision during a ceremony from 6 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. on Tuesday, October 28, at the Renaissance Chicago O’Hare Suites Hotel.

The nine honorees are the late Dean S. Ammer, Ph.D., Lee C. Boergadine, Gene D. Burton, Charles E. Housley, Thomas W. Kelly, William J. McFaul, Tom Pirelli, Donald J. Siegle and Alex J. Vallas. Each recipient’s bellwether profile can be found on Bellwether League Inc.’s Web site at www.bellwetherleague.org.

Ammer remains an acclaimed educator and author whose books on industrial engineering and economics continue to serve as supply chain industry barometers. Ammer’s wife Christine will accept the award on his behalf.

Boergadine built his reputation for practicing what he preached in Peoria and became best known for serving as a mentor and teacher to hundreds of supply chain management professionals, both as a hospital executive and later as a consultant through his popular continuing education and training seminars.

Burton is regarded as a developer and process pioneer who established centralized corporate contracting programs and shared service operations for a large investor-owned hospital chain and a not-for-profit health system, respectively, as well as for founding and leading the successful equipment planning and procurement consulting firm that bears his name.

Housley is revered as a leader and trailblazer in the 1970s and 1980s who championed supply chain management’s executive position and stature well before it was fashionable. He did this not only with words as a prominent and prolific author and speaker, but also with actions as he became one of the few hospital supply chain management professionals to become a hospital administrator/CEO.

Kelly is recognized for his groundbreaking achievements at one of the oldest and most venerable hospitals in the nation in the areas of interdepartmental relationships, workflow management and early use of information technology in supply chain management.

McFaul earned the spotlight as a maverick and motivator, starting in the hospital ranks before establishing his national reputation as a sought-after consultant specializing in non-salary expense reduction, cost management services and clinical value analysis and strategic resource management.

Pirelli is the innovator and visionary that pioneered the use of personal computer-based business systems in hospital supply chain management. The company he founded was the first to install a hospital-based local area network, as well as integrated bar-code scanners and touch screens for tracking hospital supplies, now an industry mainstay.

Siegle is regarded for his team-building philosophy in getting professionals and departments to collaborate and cooperate for more effective and efficient contract negotiations. Furthermore, the former steel industry procurement executive parlayed his skills to help found one of the largest national group purchasing organizations in the nation.

Vallas is recognized as a passionate advocate and crusader for supply chain management playing a significant role in an organization’s financial health and security, helping to usher in value analysis as a standard practice and pushing for professional certification.

Bellwether League Inc. also will recognize and highlight its 2008 founding sponsors, leading companies that represent the key segments within supply chain management – manufacturing, distribution, group purchasing and cost management services. They are Owens & Minor Inc., Hospira, Premier Purchasing Partners L.P., Kimberly-Clark Health Care and MedAssets.

Tickets for the event, which features a cocktail reception, dinner and awards presentation, remain available at $300 per person or $2,500 per table. For more information, visit Bellwether League Inc.’s Web site at www.bellwetherleague.org.

About Bellwether League Inc.

Bellwether League Inc. plans to recognize its second group of honorees in April 2009 and honor them at a recognition dinner in Chicago next October, a schedule that will continue annually.

Bellwether League Inc. selects individuals that meet its criteria to be publicly recognized and recorded in print and online media for their contributions in advancing and improving all segments of the healthcare supply chain. The criteria include ethics, innovation, integrity, leadership, longevity, mentoring, reputation, speaking, teaching, writing and volunteering.

The Board of Directors of Bellwether League Inc. comprises a veteran group of industry advocates who have volunteered their time and expertise to create and continually develop the organization and its ongoing educational activities. The Board includes:

Jamie C. Kowalski (co-founder and chairman), vice president of business development, Owens & Minor Inc., Milwaukee, WI

Rick Dana Barlow (co-founder and executive director), president, Wingfoot Media Inc., Schaumburg, IL

Robert P. “Bud” Bowen (secretary), retired CEO, Amerinet Inc., St. Charles, MO

Patrick E. Carroll Jr. (treasurer), president, Patrick E. Carroll & Associates, Cypress, CA

James F. Dickow, director of supply chain management, facilities and operations consulting, Lerch Bates Inc., Mequon, WI

John B. Gaida, senior vice president of supply chain management, Texas Health Resources, Arlington, TX

Laurence A. Dickson, retired corporate director of materials management, Sisters of Providence Health System, Seattle, WA

Thomas W. Hughes, executive director, Strategic Marketplace Initiative, Scituate, MA

Richard A. Perrin, president and CEO, AdvanTech Inc., Annapolis, MD

Derwood B. Dunbar Jr., president and CEO, MAGNET Co-op, Mechanicsburg, PA

For more information, to become a corporate or individual sponsor or to nominate honoree candidates visit Bellwether League Inc.’s Web site at www.bellwetherleague.org.

10 sponsors move healthcare supply chain ‘hall of fame’ forward

SCHAUMBURG, IL (July 17, 2008) – Through mid-July 2008, Bellwether League Inc., the Schaumburg, IL-based healthcare supply chain “hall of fame,” has recruited 10 corporate financial sponsors so far to support its ongoing mission to recognize, promote and honor supply chain excellence.
The sponsoring organizations represent four different market segments: Distribution, manufacturing, group purchasing and media.
Five Founding Sponsors include the following:

Owens & Minor Inc., Mechanicsville, VA, one of the nation’s largest healthcare supply distributors
Hospira Worldwide Inc., Lake Forest, IL, a global specialty pharmaceutical and medication delivery company
Premier Inc., Charlotte, a leading healthcare alliance owned by not-for-profit hospitals that operates one of the largest purchasing networks and a comprehensive repository of clinical and financial data
Kimberly-Clark Worldwide Inc., Dallas, the multi-national consumer products manufacturing company
MedAssets Inc., Atlanta, the investor-owned margin and cash flow improvement company for hospitals that operates one of the nation’s largest purchasing networks

Founding Sponsors agree to donate $10,000 to Bellwether League Inc. for the first year and $2,000 annually thereafter.

Other non-Founding Sponsors include: Amerinet Inc., St. Louis, one of the nation’s largest healthcare group purchasing organizations; Amerinet Central, Warrendale, PA, one of the two investor-owners of Amerinet Inc.; C.R. Bard Inc., Murray Hill, NJ, the multinational developer, manufacturer and marketer of products that focus on disease state management in vascular, urology and oncology segments; Cardinal Health Inc., Dublin, OH, the global manufacturer and distributor of healthcare products and services; and Wingfoot Media Inc., Schaumburg, IL, a content management services company with a specialty in healthcare supply chain management.

“We appreciate and welcome the support of these forward-thinking companies that are willing to invest in Bellwether League Inc. and recognize the importance of supply chain development industrywide,” said Rick Dana Barlow, Bellwether League Inc. co-founder and executive director.

“We feel that the industry needs and wants a ‘hall of fame’ for those innovators and trailblazers who have made, and may still be making, a difference in the supply chain process,” Barlow continued. “The generous contributions of these companies will go a long way toward helping Bellwether League Inc. gain traction and recognition in its own right as it strives to honor participants in one of the fundamental revenue- and expense-impacting functions in a healthcare organization.”

Launched in late July 2007 by a group of influential veterans in the healthcare supply chain industry, Bellwether League Inc. seeks to identify and honor individuals who have demonstrated significant leadership in and influence on and contributions to the healthcare supply chain, including professional from hospitals, non-acute healthcare providers, manufacturers and distributors of healthcare products, group purchasing organizations, consulting firms and educational institutions.

Bellwether League Inc. recognized its first group of nine noteworthy honorees in late April. The organization’s 10-member Board of Directors chose the late Dean Ammer, Lee Boergadine, Gene Burton, Charles Housley, Thomas Kelly, William McFaul, Tom Pirelli, Donald Siegle and Alex Vallas.

Bellwether League Inc., which has submitted its application for not-for-profit status, plans to host a recognition dinner for the 2008 honorees in Chicago at the end of October. The organization plans to recognize its second group of honorees in April 2009 and honor them at the recognition dinner in Chicago in October, a schedule that will continue annually.

Bellwether League Inc. selects individuals that meet its criteria to be publicly recognized and recorded in print and online media for their contributions in advancing and improving all segments of the healthcare supply chain. The criteria include ethics, innovation, integrity, leadership, longevity, mentoring, reputation, speaking, teaching, writing and volunteering.

The Board of Directors of Bellwether League Inc. comprises a veteran group of industry advocates who have volunteered their time and expertise to create and continually develop the organization and its ongoing educational activities. The Board includes:

Jamie C. Kowalski (co-founder and chairman), vice president of business development, Owens & Minor Inc., Milwaukee, WI
Rick Dana Barlow (co-founder and executive director), president, Wingfoot Media Inc., Schaumburg, IL
Robert P. “Bud” Bowen (secretary), retired CEO, Amerinet Inc., St. Charles, MO
Patrick E. Carroll Jr. (treasurer), president, Patrick E. Carroll & Associates, Cypress, CA
James F. Dickow, director of supply chain management, facilities and operations consulting, Lerch Bates Inc., Mequon, WI
John B. Gaida, senior vice president of supply chain management, Texas Health Resources, Arlington, TX
Laurence A. Dickson, retired corporate director of materials management, Sisters of Providence Health System, Seattle, WA
Thomas W. Hughes, executive director, Strategic Marketplace Initiative, Scituate, MA
Richard A. Perrin, president and CEO, AdvanTech Inc., Annapolis, MD
Derwood B. Dunbar Jr., president and CEO, MAGNET Co-op, Mechanicsburg, PA

Healthcare supply chain ‘hall of fame’ honors nine

SCHAUMBURG, IL (April 30, 2008) – Bellwether League Inc., the healthcare supply chain ‘hall of fame,’ recognized its first group of noteworthy honorees – nine individuals that impacted the industry through their actions and insights and pushed the profession forward in the process.

The organization’s 10-member Advisory Council chose the late Dean Ammer, Lee Boergadine, Gene Burton, Charles Housley, Thomas Kelly, William McFaul, Tom Pirelli, Donald Siegle and Alex Vallas for initial recognition. All nine were selected for their intellectual and operational contributions to healthcare through their experience in hospitals, group purchasing organizations, manufacturers and distributors, consulting firms, educational institutions and media outlets.

Dean Ammer, Ph.D.

Ammer, an acclaimed Northeastern University professor of industrial engineering and economics, was a prolific author and speaker, regarded by many as the father of healthcare materials management – even in contemporary circles. As far back as the early 1960s, he advocated the effectiveness of purchasing, predicted that materials management would be viewed as a corporate position and a profit center and promoted a supply chain function that integrated a variety of operational components to service customers throughout the hospital. Although Ammer died in late 1999, his publications and influence remain popular and are still quoted and sourced today.

Lee Boergadine

Boergadine was known for his accomplishments and leadership as a supply chain management director for not-for-profit and investor-owned hospitals almost as much as his popular continuing education and training seminars. Through those seminars, hosted by Health Service Corporation of America’s Academy for Professional Development, Boergadine helped train more than 600 materials management professionals in the areas of finance and supply chain operations.

“For too long professionals in the field of supply chain management have not only found themselves physically in the basement of their respective institutions but there in the thinking of healthcare executives as well,” Boergadine said. “The Bellwether League will provide a forum to recognize supply chain professionals who have demonstrated in tangible ways what it means to be an effective, caring provider of healthcare services. To be so honored, and to be in such company with the other honorees, is not only awesome but unbelievable.”

Gene Burton

After a decade in hospital purchasing, Burton launched a full-service shared services organization for not-for profit hospitals in western Kentucky in 1968 before overseeing and expanding centralized corporate purchasing operations at two of the nation’s largest investor-owned hospital chains. He retired from the healthcare purchasing world to found a successful equipment planning and procurement consulting firm in the late 1980s that still operates today.

Charles Housley

Housley was one of the few hospital supply chain management directors to become president and CEO of a facility. He pioneered the concepts of just-in-time and stockless distribution in hospitals, product evaluation and standardization committees and emphasized the value of forecasting and product formularies back in the 1970s and 1980s. Most of his authoritative published works, and consulting and speaking engagements reflected his advocacy that materials managers should be elevated to executive level positions for the business side of hospital operations.

Thomas Kelly

Kelly spent a decade of his supply chain management career at one of the oldest and most venerable institutions in the nation – Massachusetts General Hospital – where he restructured the facility’s purchasing organization to be more responsive to the needs of hospital employees and vendors, as well as control costs through standardization, value analysis and workflow improvements. With his 35 years as an adjunct professor of management information systems/information technology at Northeastern University, Kelly established and maintained a micro distributed computerized system for finance, purchasing and materials flow for a large healthcare network in the Northeast.

William McFaul

Despite his early career in not-for-profit hospital purchasing and shared services operations, McFaul may be best known for launching a prominent consulting firm that helped hospitals control non-salary expenses and streamline operations. McFaul was an influential proponent of shared services ventures between related and unrelated healthcare facilities and was instrumental in the creation and development of one of the 10 largest group purchasing organizations in the industry. He pioneered the concept of contract management services for materials management, as well as developed concepts for data sharing, statistical analysis of product and service consumption and standardization, clinical value analysis and strategic resource management. Today he leads The Center for Modeling Optimal Outcomes, a firm he created to cultivate critical thinking, leadership, management and visionary process development and has earned patents on a number of learning and leadership training programs.

“To me, the most significant aspect of being nominated by the Bellwether League is the fact that my selection was made by some of the most qualified professionals who have ever worked in the industry,” McFaul said. “The mission of the Bellwether League offers supply chain professionals the ability to be honored for their contribution to the country at large. Little thought is given to the fact that, regardless of the title or specific duties, supply chain executives are making a major contribution to restrain excessive healthcare expenditures. The Bellwether League process will provide recognition for the profession as a whole and, hopefully, supply chain executives will gain even greater respect for their contributions to all of the U.S.; not merely to their employer.”

Tom Pirelli

Pirelli is best known for founding Enterprise Systems Inc., a healthcare software firm that was one of the first companies to offer personal computer-based business systems for use in hospitals. In fact, ESI was the first software company to install a local area network in a hospital and the first to integrate bar code scanners and touch screens for tracking hospital supplies. ESI’s supply chain application software was considered the industry standard during the 1980s and 1990s because it brought discipline and efficiency in a user-friendly package to the business of managing the supply chain. Through his Arial Foundation Pirelli is dedicated to working with children, handicapped individuals and poor families, helping to construct new homes and apply automation, robotics and voice-controlled technology to improve daily living and local economies.

Donald Siegle

Siegle parlayed his buying skills acquired in the steel industry in western Pennsylvania to help create and develop one of the five largest group purchasing organizations in the nation. As a passionate and vocal advocate of collaboration and cooperation between hospital buyers, a strategy that could help them collectively negotiate with the multi-million dollar companies supplying the healthcare industry, Siegle stressed procurement education as the seed of professional success and reduced healthcare costs.

Alex Vallas

Vallas, whose hospital materials management career spanned more than three decades, helped introduce the concept of value analysis into healthcare from industry and was one of the first to push for materials management certification. He strongly advocated that materials management play a major role in a hospital’s financial stability, urging the need to elevate the status of purchasing, materials or supply chain management to an executive level and arguing for a clear separation between providers and suppliers in favor of professional leadership development.

“It is commendable and, I believe, highly unusual to have a group with diverse connections join together to recognize individuals for their accomplishments, not for personal gain, but as a tribute to the profession of healthcare supply chain management for which they serve,” Vallas said. “There is no greater honor than being recognized by one’s peers, thus, I am extremely honored and pleased to be included in the inaugural inductee class of April 2008.”

New organization recognizes healthcare supply chain leaders

SCHAUMBURG, IL (Jan. 21, 2008) – Because supply chain management professionals are integral to the successful delivery of quality healthcare service and effective and efficient patient care a new organization plans to recognize their efforts and achievements.

Lacking the equipment, supplies and tools needed to perform surgery effectively renders a surgeon powerless and places the patient at risk. But it also highlights the critical and pivotal role played by an important group in the hospital who perform a fundamentally essential function – supply chain management professionals.

These business-oriented but clinically minded men and women must keep their feet firmly planted in two distinct worlds. Not only do they have to supply all of the necessary devices and equipment for doctors and nurses to care for patients and generate top-line revenue for their facilities, but they also have to manage the bottom line through product evaluations and selections, contract negotiations and maximizing the efficiency of the processes that get products to the points of use. The supply chain impact on a hospital’s financial performance can be significant, consuming up to 45 percent of a hospital’s budget. So these professionals continually are challenged to balance clinical needs with holding the line on total delivered costs.

Bellwether League Inc. plans to recognize its first group of honorees in April 2008, its second group in October 2008, and annually thereafter in October.

Bellwether League Inc. is a non-membership, non-stock, not-for-profit educational organization that anecdotally profiles the influencers and leaders in healthcare supply chain management, highlighting their achievements, accomplishments, innovations, philosophy and vision as part of an industry “hall of fame” whose recipients are selected annually by the Bellwether League Inc. Advisory Council.

The Chicago-based Association for Healthcare Resource & Materials Management (AHRMM) has expressed its support for Bellwether League Inc. and also will provide visibility and promotion of its activities.

Bellwether League co-founders participate in podcast with Strategic Value Analysis in Healthcare

(Feb. 22, 2008) For more information click on the podcast and Web link below.

http://www.strategicvalueanalysis.com/Bellwether.htm

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