SARASOTA, FL (July 28, 2021) -- Healthcare Purchasing News named Phoenix-based Banner Health as the recipient of its 18th Annual Supply Chain Department of the Year Award. HPN, which provides clinical intelligence for supply chain leadership in print and online, selected the Supply Chain Services team at Banner Health for their ability to develop a strategic and tactical formula for their clinical, financial and operational success.
Doug Bowen, vice president Supply Chain Services, at Banner Health, attributes the success of his award-winning team to “consistent, dedicated and purposeful work,” the hallmarks of leadership and service to achieve a “highly effective supply chain.”
Bowen’s team views much of what typically can be classified as “supply chain responsibilities,” such as evaluating, contracting, purchasing, storing, moving, maintaining and replenishing equipment and supplies, as tactical outgrowths of a quartet of key strategies.
Perfecting the customer experience represents one of the four strategies, exemplified in part by a “digital front door” that enables customers – and patients – to use computers, smart phones and apps to access medical records, schedule appointments, check in for procedures, consult with clinicians and pay bills, among other functions. Although Information Technology may be responsible for such technology, Supply Chain engineered its own carve-out on which to focus to execute this strategy.
As much of the nation started recognizing COVID-19 as a pandemic in mid-to-late March 2020, implementing protective measures, such as quarantining and regulating availability of “non-essential services;” managing personal protective equipment (PPE) and sanitizing product access and consumption; and navigating policy changes, Banner already was two full months into its operational response.
Bowen credits Banner chief medical officer with the foresight. The organization activated a multi-disciplinary group, dubbed the “PPE Cabinet” in anticipation of supply chain disruption and also to improve preparedness for future surges that may be unrelated to COVID-19.
Taking a cue from air traffic controllers that require visibility of flight patterns, Banner instituted a “supply chain control tower” model to increase visibility over operations to pivot when necessary, according to James Hutchinson, senior director, Supply Chain Services.
Bowen attributes the foundational development and success of his award-winning team to three process changes: Migrating toward reusable products from disposables, moving toward local sourcing from global sourcing and shifting to a “more balanced scorecard” from cost savings as the department’s measure of success.
As part of its Supply Chain Department of the Year judging panel HPN historically includes supply chain executives from past title-holding organizations that have earned HPN’s top designation. This year’s panel gave Banner high marks for demand planning and crisis preparation.
The Banner Health Supply Chain team will be featured in HPN's August edition and will be celebrated at the Healthcare Purchasing News AHRMM Conference Booth 610, on Aug. 23, at 2:30 p.m., at the Nashville Music City Center, Nashville, TN. Join us there!
Visit HPN Online for the article at https://www.hpnonline.com/hall-of-fame/article/21230902/its-a-banner-year-for-supply-chain
About Healthcare Purchasing News:
Since 1977, Healthcare Purchasing News has been the only comprehensive business news magazine dedicated to reporting news, analyses and product information to supply chain managers, surgical services/operating room managers, sterile processing and distribution/central service personnel, infection preventionists, and others who make purchasing and supply chain decisions for hospitals and outpatient facilities. For more information, go to http://www.hpnonline.com.
About Banner Health
Headquartered in Arizona, Banner Health is one of the largest nonprofit health care systems in the country. The system owns and operates 30 acute-care hospitals, Banner Health Network, Banner – University Medicine, academic and employed physician groups, long-term care centers, outpatient surgery centers and an array of other services; including Banner Urgent Care, family clinics, home care and hospice services, pharmacies and a nursing registry. Banner Health is in six states: Arizona, California, Colorado, Nebraska, Nevada and Wyoming. For more information, visit bannerhealth.com.
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