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One to be honored with the 2026 Dean S. Ammer Award for Healthcare Supply Chain Performance Excellence

SCHAUMBURG, IL (June 22, 2026) — Bellwether League Foundation's Healthcare Supply Chain Leadership Hall of Fame will recognize and welcome one Honoree for the Dean S. Ammer Award for Healthcare Supply Chain Performance Excellence. He joins 8 other Ammer Honorees saluted by the Hall.

For 2026, the Ammer Honoree is Neil Allen, Senior Director, Spend Management and Administration, University of Kansas Health System, Mission, KS.

The Ammer award is named for and dedicated to the first inductee into Bellwether League Foundation's Healthcare Supply Chain Leadership Hall of Fame in 2008. BLF reserves this honor for those professionals in the middle of their careers that it deems best exemplify the practice and spirit of healthcare supply chain performance excellence through their innovative leadership and influential project management experience.

As part of the Ammer Class of 2026, Allen will be recognized and saluted at the 19th Annual Bellwether League Foundation Induction & Recognition Event (BLFIRE), scheduled for Monday, November 16, at Georgia Southern University's Armstrong Center, Savannah, GA.

"Sending congratulations on behalf of the Bellwether League Foundation to Neil for exemplifying the insightful way he tackled the difficult challenges facing his organization in the current healthcare climate," said Barbara Strain, Bellwether Class of 2021, and BLF Board Chairman. "When confronted with lofty expectations Neil tweaked or created new processes to ensure his organization reached its supply chain goals and set up a Center of Excellence to continue to create rather than re-create."

Ammer Honoree Class of 2026

Neil Allen knows how to keep the supply pipeline flowing, even with the addition of $200 million in purchasing volume and the integration of 30,000 new purchase items stemming from the acquistion of two hospitals to his integrated delivery network (IDN). Allen also maintains solid and respected connections with clinicians after establishing a dedicated distribution and logistics team to manage bedside cart inventory across patient units, which reinforces the IDN's clinically integrated supply chain operation. This includes managing an extensive formulary, overseeing expiration control and handling product recalls or nonconforming items. Because of the team's success, nursing leaders officially asked him to replicate the process at the newly acquired hospitals. Allen also spearheaded a data quality program centered on distribution alignment and contract price accuracy through cross-functional supply chain professionals. He developed a Center of Excellence Program (COE) focused on systemwide governance, multiyear roadmap development, process optimization and the advancement of a strong digital transformation pipeline, supported by IDN leadership.

About Bellwether League Foundation

Bellwether League FoundationTM (BLF) is an independent 501(c)3 nonprofit charitable organization that offers programs to educate, endow and evaluate professionals in healthcare supply chain performance excellence. BLF accomplishes this through its primary operation, the Healthcare Supply Chain Leadership Hall of FameTM, its growing philanthropic efforts, which include Collegiate Capstone Projects and scholarships and its various multimedia properties.

The Healthcare Supply Chain Leadership Hall of Fame evaluates and validates professionals submitted for consideration in its three award programs: Bellwether Honorees, Ammer Honorees and Future Famers. The Hall of Fame also offers educational and professional development content via the annual Bellwether Leadership Symposium and its "Leaders & Luminaries" multimedia properties of online and printed content.

The Hall of Fame selects deceased, retired and currently active professionals with a minimum of 25 years of exemplary service and leadership performance in supply chain operations that meet its criteria to be recognized publicly as Bellwether Class Honorees.

Future Famers represent supply chain professionals early in their healthcare careers (first 10- 12 years) who do not yet qualify for Bellwether consideration but have contributed meaningfully to the profession and industry.

Honorees who receive the "Dean S. Ammer Award for Healthcare Supply Chain Performance Excellence" represent noteworthy executives and professionals in the middle of their careers who, through their innovative leadership and influential project management experience, best exemplify the practice and spirit of healthcare supply chain performance excellence.

To date, the Healthcare Supply Chain Leadership Hall of Fame has inducted 148 innovators, leaders and pioneers in healthcare supply chain management in seven distinct categories: Provider- Based Supply Chain Management, Manufacturing, Distribution, Group Purchasing, Consulting Services, Academia and Media. The Hall of Fame also has recognized 42 Future Famers and six Ammer Honorees.

BLF's philanthropy efforts support capstone educational and developmental projects, grants and scholarships to college-bound high school students who plan to study supply chain curricula, current college students who major in supply chain-related careers and professionals who pursue continuing education through associations and universities.

BLF salutes its six sustaining sponsors at the Founding/Platinum level — GHX, HealthTrust, Owens & Minor, Premier, Vizient and Wingfoot Media — and more than 21 additional sustaining sponsors at the Gold, Silver and Bronze levels. This is a dedicated group that represents manufacturers, distributors, group purchasing organizations (GPOs), integrated delivery networks (IDNs), consulting firms, associations and media outlets. BLF also appreciates and thanks its devoted corporate and professional donors for their generosity, participation and partnership.

Launched in late July 2007 by a group of influential veterans in the healthcare supply chain industry, Bellwether League Foundation began as a 501(c)(6) not-for-profit corporation that upgraded to a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization in January 2021.

Gary Rakes, Bellwether Class of 2021, BLF Advisory Council Chairman and Nominating Committee Co-Chair, linked Allen to the Ammer spirit. "The Ammer Award honors those who transform vision into highly measurable impacts," he noted. "Through exceptional leadership, superb innovation and an unwavering commitment to advancing healthcare supply chain performance, Neil has truly elevated the profession, strengthened organizational excellence, and created lasting value for his patients, caregivers, and the healthcare supply chain industry as a whole. We proudly recognize and honor him as a distinguished member of the 2026 Ammer Honoree Class."