ST. LOUIS & SYDNEY--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Ascension, the largest private, tax-exempt, nongovernmental health system in the United States, and Ramsay Health Care Limited, one of the top six private hospital operators in the world, are partnering in a new global supply chain joint venture. The new organization will combine the purchasing power of St. Louis-based Ascension, the world’s largest Catholic health system, and Sydney based Ramsay Health Care, which operates more than 230 healthcare facilities in six countries on four continents.
The venture will be owned equally by Ascension and Ramsay. Two Ascension subsidiaries – Ascension Holdings International and The Resource Group, Ascension’s GPO and strategic sourcing subsidiary – will work with Ramsay’s International Procurement Office to develop and operationalize the new global healthcare buying group.
“Ascension is continually exploring potential opportunities to extend our reach internationally and make healthcare more affordable for those we serve,” said Anthony R. Tersigni, EdD, FACHE, President and Chief Executive Officer, Ascension. “As we looked for partners to help us improve the quality and reduce the costs of the millions of items our caregivers use to provide compassionate, personalized care, we were tremendously impressed by Ramsay Health Care, whose values and mission align closely with our own.”
Ramsay’s Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Craig McNally said both organizations had a long history of providing quality healthcare services to patients. “This new global healthcare buying group between Ascension and Ramsay, will seek products internationally that are able to deliver the high level of service and clinical outcomes that our patients have come to expect. Globally, funders are looking for better outcomes at a reduced cost and it is important that all players in the healthcare system work to meet these expectations. At the same time, technology is advancing rapidly and we owe it to our patients to stay abreast of new developments. This partnership between Ramsay and Ascension will allow us to share learnings, best practice and industry knowledge to seek improved quality and outcomes whilst also reducing costs.”
“We believe that over the next few years, we will create opportunities to both improve financial and operating performance within our respective organizations, as well as providing an alternative supply chain source for independent providers in North America, Asia, Oceania, and Europe,” said John D. Doyle, Executive Vice President, Ascension, and President and CEO, Ascension Holdings International. “The new venture is designed by providers, for providers, with the belief that we can bring greater efficiency, discipline, and innovation to the system, and form more productive relationships with the vendor community, so that all can benefit by making healthcare more affordable.”
The organization already has begun exploring alternatives to traditional approaches to create a more efficient technology platform for ordering, tracking, logistics and fulfillment.
About Ascension
Ascension (www.ascension.org) is a faith-based healthcare organization dedicated to transformation through innovation across the continuum of care. As the largest non-profit health system in the U.S. and the world’s largest Catholic health system, Ascension is committed to delivering compassionate, personalized care to all, with special attention to persons living in poverty and those most vulnerable. In FY2017, Ascension provided more than $1.8 billion in care of persons living in poverty and other community benefit programs. Ascension includes approximately 165,000 associates and 34,000 aligned providers. Ascension’s Healthcare Division operates more than 2,600 sites of care – including 153 hospitals and more than 50 senior living facilities – in 22 states and the District of Columbia, while its Solutions Division provides a variety of services and solutions including physician practice management, venture capital investing, investment management, biomedical engineering, facilities management, clinical care management, information services, risk management, and contracting through Ascension’s own group purchasing organization.
About The Resource Group
The Resource Group, LLC, is a business transformation services organization that specializes in the area of non-payroll spend management and the processes required to sustain the value delivered. These sustainable processes include integrated change management, operations and logistics, sourcing and contracting, analytics, and continuous process improvement. As a part of its comprehensive, non-payroll spend management program, The Resource Group also provides its participants with access to its industry leading, single-tiered pricing contract portfolio, regardless of size or location. Sustained value is driven by the User-Directed Strategic SourcingTM process, which empowers end-users by engaging them to determine necessary attributes of products and services and achieves a 99.8 percent contract implementation rate through change management, continuous implementation and process improvement. The Resource Group manages a portfolio of $7.7 billion in annual supply, purchased services, pharmacy, construction materials, capital, and IT spending and has delivered annual expense reduction of $1 billion to its participants. The Resource Group serves participants and employs associates across 24 states and Washington, D.C.
About Ramsay Health Care
Ramsay Health Care (www.ramsayhealth.com) was established by Paul Ramsay, in Sydney, Australia, in 1964 and has grown to become a global hospital group operating over 230 hospitals and day surgery facilities across Australia, France, Italy, the United Kingdom, Indonesia and Malaysia. It is one of the top six private hospital operators in the world. Ramsay Health Care facilities cater for a broad range of health care needs from day surgery procedures to highly complex surgery, as well as psychiatric care and rehabilitation. With circa 25,000 beds, the Company employs over 60,000 staff across six countries and treats almost 3 million patients each year.
