CHARLOTTE, N.C. (Nov.

18, 2001) – More than 103 million patients – many without

health insurance and needing primary care – stream into hospital emergency
departments in America each year. Some 33 million of those visit Premier
hospitals. Frequently, the results are delays in treatment, overcrowding, and
patient dissatisfaction. That’s why Premier is launching a 10-month project to
help hospitals make rapid improvements in their emergency departments.

Premier is a healthcare alliance of 1,600 not-for profit hospitals committed to

improving healthcare quality, enhancing safety, and reducing costs.

"The Efficient, Effective Emergency Department" will kick off November 18-19
(Sunday-Monday) at the Renaissance Hotel in Charlotte. Nineteen hospitals from
across the country are participating. They range from 20-bed rural hospitals to
trauma centers that treat more than 100,000 patients a year. Physicians, quality
leaders, chief operating officers, and emergency department directors and managers
will attend.

The keynote speaker is Brian Keaton, M.D., director of emergency medical

informatics for Summa Health System in Akron, Ohio. He will speak Sunday, November
18, at 11:15 a.m. about safety in the emergency department.

The primary goal of the project is to reduce the amount of time patients spend in
emergency departments. "Delays in diagnosis and treatment can lead to worsening
patient conditions, even death," said Jack Cox, M.D., M.M.M., senior vice
president for Premier Clinical Innovations. "Many of the solutions we will
recommend aren’t complex. They are small, practical steps that hospitals can put
into place quickly and see results immediately."

Project Director Marci Messer, M.B.A., M.H.A., says the project will draw on
approaches to improvements used in other fields, such as the automotive industry.
"Standardization is key. We’ll show hospitals how to standardize their processes.
Every second counts whether a nurse is seeking a crash cart or a gauze pad."

The project will focus on the everyday challenges emergency departments face.
"Right now, every day is a disaster for some emergency departments. Regardless of
how good the ER is, we want them prepared for anything – from the random car
accident to the threat of bioterrorism."

About Premier

Premier, Inc., is a strategic healthcare alliance, entirely owned by more than 200
of the nation’s leading hospital and healthcare systems. These systems operate or
are affiliated with approximately 1,600 hospital facilities in 50 states. Premier
provides an array of resources supporting health services delivery. Among them are
supply chain management support and group purchasing for more than $14 billion
annually in supplies and equipment. Premier also offers insurance programs,
performance improvement services of many kinds (including substantial comparative
databases and associated benchmarking applications), clinical technology services,
and practice support services. Premier is headquartered in San Diego, Calif., with
offices in Chicago, Ill., Charlotte, N.C., and Washington, D. C.

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