Media

10 called to healthcare supply chain leaders hall of fame
Bellwether Class of 2012 Honorees push operations, performance boundaries

SCHAUMBURG, IL (July 9, 2012) – Bellwether League Inc., the healthcare supply chain leaders hall of fame, elected 10 innovators, pioneers and visionaries as Honorees of the Bellwether Class of 2012.

Four are retired or near retirement, two are deceased and four remain active and dedicated to service.

Bellwether League Inc.’s 10-member Board of Directors selected the following professionals to comprise the Bellwether Class of 2012: John H. Clarke, Paul V. Farrell, Max Goodloe Sr., Roberta Graham, R.N., George O. Hansen, James L. Hersma, Thomas W. Hughes, Carl L. Manley, Raymond Seigfried and Robert A. Simpson.

Honorees of the Bellwether Class of 2012 will be inducted at the 5th Annual Honoree Induction Dinner Event, scheduled for Tuesday, October 2, at the Sheraton Chicago O’Hare Airport Hotel.

Bellwether League Inc.’s Board selected these bellwethers for their achievements and contributions in the delivery of quality care through efficient and innovative supply chain operations. They represent creative thinkers who take the initiative, expand the boundaries of what’s possible, and perform in a way that improves and promotes the profession of supply chain management among hospitals, group purchasing organizations (GPOs), manufacturers and distributors, consulting firms, educational institutions and media properties.

Companies or individuals wishing to honor any or all of the Honorees can visit Bellwether League Inc.’s Web site at www.bellwetherleague.org to register to attend, sponsor the award dinner event or post congratulatory messages in the collectible dinner program.

“Bellwether League Inc.’s mission is to identify, recognize and honor supply chain executives that have accomplished much and made significant contributions to the advancement of the application of supply chain principles in all segments of the healthcare industry,” said Jamie C. Kowalski, co-founder and chairman. “The Honoree Class of 2012 continues that tradition.

“Some of the selected honorees are known industry-wide. Some are not so well known. But each, in his/her own way, have moved the needle, made a positive impact, and deserve the recognition BLI will bestow on them at the 5th Annual Honoree Award Dinner in October. We are pleased and proud to have selected each one of them,” Kowalski added.

“Healthcare reform and the continued struggles of the global economy intensifies the light shining on the supply chain management profession, and will continue to require greater contributions from it and its leaders,” Kowalski continued. “Such contributions will help improve the quality of patient care and the strength of the bottom line of hospitals throughout the country, and maybe the world. This will be done in many ways, and will likely include emulating, and even improving upon, what our honorees have done. And that is how it should be. It is one of the reasons for the existence of the Bellwether League – to shine the light on our honorees so the industry can learn and benefit from their stellar work and experiences.

“The Board of Directors of the Bellwether League looks forward to welcoming these Honorees and to providing the opportunity for all healthcare industry supply chain executives to join us at the Dinner, meet those they do not yet know, and help us honor the Class of 2012,” he said.

“Without a doubt the Honorees of the Bellwether Class of 2012 have left a deep and indelible impact on this industry – from core fundamentals and foundational work to envelope-pushing leadership on seminal issues,” said Rick Dana Barlow, Bellwether League Inc., co-founder and executive director. “Thankfully, for the supply chain management profession, as well as the healthcare industry and even the patients themselves, some aren’t yet finished. Truly, this represents yet another noteworthy and worthy group.”

Bellwether Class of 2012

COL John H. Clarke (RET – U.S. Army) was instrumental in helping the U.S. Department of Defense and Veterans Administration convert to a global supply chain system similar to the framework used by the private sector, including serving as the chief proponent and architect of integrating the government’s variety of clinical and operational databases and promoting data standardization.

Paul V. Farrell, C.P.M., is considered one of the foremost purchasing experts in the nation since the 1940s. He dedicated nearly five decades of editorial and management service to purchasing activities, including writing and editing news articles and prominent educational textbooks, as well as teaching, consulting and participating in various professional development programs, to promote purchasing excellence and performance.

Max Goodloe Sr. founded General Medical Corp., the second-largest distributor of healthcare products at the time (behind American Hospital Supply Corp.), but the largest supplier directly targeting physicians. Goodloe pioneered the concept of a national distribution company with a local sales and warehousing presence so customers anywhere in the nation could rely on either same-day emergency or next-day delivery service.

Roberta Graham, R.N., retires at year’s end as executive vice president of UHC after nearly two decades of service there. During Graham’s nursing and supply chain career, which spans more than 40 years, she was instrumental in launching and developing extensive benchmarking, operational improvement and value analysis programs as well as linking clinical and operational data and human resources.

George O. Hansen, as the lead systems design consultant for American Sterilizer Co. (AMSCO), introduced and incorporated the principles of throughput and workflow analysis – planning the size, layout and equipment for processing services based on volume and cycle-time requirements – into centralized supply processing and distribution departments in hospitals around the globe.

James L. Hersma served as the first president of Novation, merging the disparate supply management operations of VHA and UHC, but many know him as a supply chain mentor and motivator, producing and presenting training materials for C-suite executives, physicians and clinicians on a national, regional and local level. Hersma also was a key advocate for using technology in supply chain operations, helping to create one of the earliest automatic order entry systems for providers and suppliers.

Thomas W. Hughes may have launched his stellar career in hospital supply chain operations but he cemented his industry stature and status after founding his prominent and market-leading supply chain management consultancy to help healthcare facilities improve clinical, financial and operational performance. Hughes also helped form, develop and lead the Strategic Marketplace Initiative (SMI), which brings providers and suppliers together to develop solutions to healthcare supply chain issues.

Carl L. Manley has spent more than three decades in supply chain operations where he was one of the earliest developers and implementers of integrated delivery network supply chain strategies and regional purchasing collaboratives, IDN-directed consolidated service centers, performance improvement initiatives and physician/primary care integration with supply chain activities. He also was instrumental in the founding of SMI and its predecessor organization that brought together IDNs to cover supply chain strategic initiatives.

Raymond Seigfried serves as a prominent and stalwart advocate for integrated system thinking and management engineering in supply chain operations. He created interdepartmental and inter-specialty groups of clinicians and administrators to improve quality performance, product and technology acceptance and acquisition, as well as supply chain oversight of system-wide clinical purchasing activities.

Robert A. Simpson, since the late 1970s, has excelled in just about every facet of the healthcare supply chain industry, from provider to government agency to group purchasing to supplier to association leadership to clinical charity activities, and has developed university curricula on healthcare operations. He currently applies his vast experience and skills to running a growing IDN, a regional collective of healthcare systems in Florida and a successful consolidated service center model.

Bellwether Classes

Bellwether League Inc.’s Board of Directors 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 publicly recognized. Honorees demonstrate their qualifications through advancing the profession, work experience, work performance and active participation in professional organizations.

To date, Bellwether League Inc., has identified and honored 52 innovators, leaders and pioneers in healthcare supply chain management in five distinct categories: Education & Media, Supply Chain Management, Group Purchasing, Supplier and Consulting Services.

The Education & Media category includes college/university professors and researchers, publishers, editors and writers. The Supply Chain Management category includes professionals working at hospitals and other non-acute care facilities, hospital systems and integrated delivery organizations. The Group Purchasing category includes professionals from among the national, regional, state, metropolitan and local group purchasing programs. The Supplier category includes professionals employed by manufacturers and distributors of products and services purchased by healthcare providers. The Consulting Services category includes those professionals advising, instructing and mentoring healthcare supply chain management professionals as the primary focus of their practice over the years.

The inaugural Bellwether Class of 2008 comprises Dean S. Ammer, Ph.D., Lee C. Boergadine, Gene D. Burton, Charles E. Housley, Thomas W. Kelly, William J. McFaul, Tom Pirelli, Donald J. Siegle and Alex J. Vallas.

The Bellwether Class of 2009 comprises George Ainsworth, Charles Auslander, Guy J. Clark, Gordon A. Friesen, Lillian R. Matiska, Brien Laing, William M. McKnight Jr., Sara I. Mobley, Paul B. Powell, Samuel G. Raudenbush, Warren D. Rhodes and James E. Stover.

The Bellwether Class of 2010 comprises Ted Almon, Carter F. Blake, Br. Ned Gerber, George R. Gossett, Frank D. Kilzer, Michael Louviere, Robert Bross Majors, Franklin J. Marshall, Daniel E. Mayworm, Foster G. McGaw, Mark McKenna, G. Gilmer Minor III, Curt M. Selquist, Donald G. Soth and Louis Vietti.

The Bellwether Class of 2011 comprises Laurence A. Dickson, Daniel J. Dryan, Derwood B. Dunbar Jr., Steven P. Gray, Betty Hanna, Larry Malcolmson and John W. Strong. Read everyone’s profiles on Bellwether League Inc.’s Web site at www.bellwetherleague.org.

About Bellwether League Inc.

Launched in late July 2007 by a group of influential veterans in the healthcare supply chain industry, Bellwether League Inc., is a 501(c)(6) not-for-profit corporation thatidentifies and honors men and women who have demonstrated significant leadership in, influence on and contributions to the supply chain from healthcare providers, healthcare product manufacturers and distributors, group purchasing organizations, consulting firms, educational institutions and media outlets.

Bellwether League Inc. is funded by five Founding Sponsors – Hospira, Kimberly-Clark Health Care, MedAssets, Owens & Minor and Premier Purchasing Partners – and a host of additional sponsors.

The Board of Directors of Bellwether League Inc. includes a veteran group of industry advocates that includes:

• Jamie C. Kowalski (co-founder, chairman), CEO, Jamie C. Kowalski Consulting LLC, Milwaukee, WI
• Rick Dana Barlow (co-founder, executive director), president, Wingfoot Media Inc., Schaumburg, IL
• John B. Gaida (secretary), senior vice president of supply chain management, Texas Health Resources, Arlington, TX
• Mary A. Starr (treasurer), assistant vice president, AdvantageTrust, HealthTrust Purchasing Group, Schaumburg, IL
• James R. Francis, chair, supply chain management, and chief supply chain officer, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN
• Michael Louviere (Bellwether Class of 2010), vice president, supply chain, Baptist Health System, Birmingham, AL
• Vance B. Moore, senior vice president, operations, Mercy, Chesterfield, MO
• Richard A. Perrin, president and CEO, AdvanTech Inc., Annapolis, MD
• Jean M. Sargent, director, supply chain, USC Health Sciences, Los Angeles
• John W. Strong (Bellwether Class of 2011), retired senior vice president, Nexera Inc./GNYHA Services, Fontana, WI

A memorial service will be held April 27, 2012, at 4 p.m., at St James the Less, 550 Sunset Ridge Rd., Northfield, IL, 60093. Donations may be sent to Evercare Hospice, 6245 E. Broadway Blvd, #510, Tucson, AZ 85711 or St. James the Less.