Womans Hospital in Baton Rouge, La. Signs Major Cost-Management Agreement With Medline

MUNDELEIN, Ill. -- Woman's Hospital of Baton Rouge, La. and Medline Industries, Inc. have signed a major multi-year cost-management agreement in which Medline will save the facility approximately $750,000 over the life of the agreement.  The three-year agreement is worth more than $15 million in medical and surgical products.

The agreement will focus on driving savings from the 225-bed facility,

one of the top hospitals in the country for women's and infant's medical

services, on a multitude of medical and surgical products and services,

including distribution of Medline and non-Medline brand products. A key

part of the partnership is Medline's custom procedure trays and unitized

delivery system called Complete Delivery System.  A custom procedure

tray is comprised of disposable medical components for a single surgical

procedure all contained in one convenient kit.  The agreement includes

Medline providing surgical specialty packs for general surgery,

cardiovascular and orthopedic, among others.

Medline's Complete Delivery System (CDS) is a

procedure-based supply management system, which combines all sterile and

non-sterile perioperative supplies required for a specific procedure and

puts them in one container.  With all the products in one container, a

CDS saves hospitals time in setting up surgical procedures,

standardizing products and reducing costs per procedure.

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Additional highlights of the agreement include:

-- Savings by converting to Medline manufactured products

delivered direct to the facilities.

-- Savings on distribution of non-Medline products through lower

fees and more efficient processes. 

-- Savings and efficiencies through product standardization and

utilization efforts in collaboration with Medline's product specialists

and on-staff clinical team.

-- Offering Woman's Hospital the option of utilizing Medline's

ACCESS consignment program. The ACCESS program enables Woman's Hospital

to maintain the items on its storeroom shelves but not have to pay for

them until they are used

Medline will also offer comprehensive product utilization and

education programs to help the facility control costs and achieve

maximum efficiency. Medline has an extensive clinical team and

educational programs in conjunction with its corporate programs.

Medline is ISO 13485 registered and FDA QSR compliant, the most

stringent international standards for producing quality products.  As a

leading supplier of quality products, Medline is asked to serve on major

industry quality committees to develop guidelines and standards for

medical product use.  Some of these organizations include the FDA

Midwest Steering Committee, AAMI Sterilization and Packaging Committee

and the various ASTM committees.

In 1968, Woman's Hospital opened its doors, becoming one of the first

women's specialty hospitals in the nation. Today, Woman's Hospital

delivers more than 7,500 babies each year making it the 16th largest

delivery service in the country and the largest in Louisiana. In

addition, the hospital performs more than 7,000 surgeries, 45,000

mammograms, and 80,000 Pap tests on an annual basis.    

Medline is the largest privately held national manufacturer and distributor of medical supplies in the United States.  The company has more than 700 dedicated sales representatives

nationwide to support its broad product line and cost management

services.  Medline distributes over 100,000 products to hospitals,

extended care facilities, surgery centers, hospital laundries, home care

dealers and agencies and other alternate site markets from its 29

distribution centers in the U.S.  With seven manufacturing facilities in

North America, Medline manufactures many of the products it sells.

Source: Medline