Carle Foundation Hospital Reduces Construction Costs $500,000 by Optimizing Use of Premier Purchasing Contracts.

URBANA, Ill. -- Carle Foundation Hospital will save about $500,000 on its current construction project by maximizing the value of vendor contracts negotiated through Premier, Inc., a national alliance of nearly 1,500 hospitals and health systems.

Carle's $47.8 million Building for Better Care project includes a five-level addition to the hospital's North Tower providing larger, updated space for obstetrics and gynecology, pediatrics, neonatal care and replacement general medical-surgical beds. Another three-level structure will expand surgery and its support services. The hospital recently completed a major expansion and renovation of the Emergency Department.

Working with McCarthy Building Companies, especially on later stages of the construction projects when equipment is being installed, Carle Foundation Hospital was able to identify some $1.2 million in purchase items that, by utilizing eight of 12 applicable Premier contracts, enabled them to save almost $450,000 plus $36,000 in fees.

McCarthy Building Companies, general contractor for the Carle Foundation Hospital project, had experience working with Premier contracts in a project recently completed for another Premier member health system.

"McCarthy pulled it together and managed it for us," Lambert said. "Having the general contractor involved is really what did it for us. McCarthy took a major role in coordination and communication."

Among items purchased under Premier contracts were heating and air conditioning equipment, paint, flooring, security systems and office equipment. Importantly, Lambert said, "we were able to do this without hurting relations with local subcontractors." The fear had been that the subs would have to sacrifice already thin margins to provide the savings. In reality, the discounts came from the Premier contracted suppliers.

Lambert said the hospital is planning two more constructions projects totaling some $30 million in the near future and is looking forward to even more savings by employing Premier contracts.

"The whole process exceeded our expectations," Lambert said. "If there's one thing I've learned it's to get Premier involved in the process early in the planning stages."

About Carle Foundation Hospital

Carle Foundation Hospital is a 295-bed tertiary care facility located in Urbana, IL. It has more than 25 departments including surgical, cardiac and neurological intensive care units, Level III Perinatal Services, a 22-bed Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, the region's only Level I Trauma Center, the Carle Heart Center and the Carle Cancer Center. The primary teaching hospital for the University of Illinois College of Medicine at Urbana Champaign, the hospital serves East Central Illinois.

About Premier, Inc.

Premier, Inc., is a healthcare alliance entirely owned by more than 200 of the nation's leading hospital and healthcare systems. These systems operate or are affiliated with nearly 1,500 hospital facilities and hundreds of other healthcare sites. Premier provides an array of resources supporting health services delivery including group purchasing for more than $21 billion annually in supplies and equipment. Other resources offered by Premier are supply chain and clinical performance improvement services and insurance programs. Headquartered in San Diego, CA, Premier has offices in Chicago, IL; Charlotte, NC; and Washington, DC.