Electronic Impact Report 2016 - 19

PROGRAM OFHCP  |
WORK 2020

72

The spectacular growth of CNECT
(previously, Council Connections) -
from 12 members in 1979 to more than 6,200
members in FY15-16 - was featured in the
April 2016 issue of the Journal of Healthcare
Contracting.
The story focused on CNECT's ultimate goal:
to support members in delivering clinically
excellent whole-person care.

CNECT continued to develop and expand its group
purchasing contract portfolio to meet the needs of its
more than 6,200 members with nearly 13,000
locations across the nation. Its contract portfolio aims
to provide supply chain solutions that create value
through cost savings, enhanced service terms, and to
provide procurement efficiencies allowing CNECT's
members to focus on their core business and improve
the overall service they provide.    
CNECT increased its staffing in both member services
and operations as part of a key strategic initiative
focused on optimizing its members' ability to realize
the full value proposition of their GPO. As
part of this initiative, CNECT hired a full-time Director
of Operations in July 2015, to create efficiencies that
optimize member access to contracted pricing. 
During FY15-16,  under the Director's guidance,
members were connected to an average of 1,000
contracts a month,  contract-load wait times were
significantly reduced, and contract access optimized.

To ensure member stability and drive increasing
value,  CNECT entered into a new 5-year GPO
Affiliate Agreement with Premier, Inc. - which is a
leading health care improvement company that
operates one of the nation's largest group purchasing
organizations.  Through this strategic affiliation,
CNECT's members have access to a broad contract
portfolio with more than 2,000 agreements.
Additionally, in the winter of 2016, CNECT became
a Premier Certified Sponsor. CNECT was among one
of the 30 programs recognized nationally with this
certification.
To keep both CNECT and it's members on the cutting
edge of the supply chain industry, CNECT participated
in several professional forums inclusive of panels, task
forces, sourcing committees and advisory groups
throughout the year. To that end, CNECT's EVP,
Sparkle Barnes, completed a four-year term on the
Premier Continuum of Care Committee of which she
chaired in her fourth and final year.  Currently, Mrs.
Barnes serves on the Premier Nursing Services
Committee in addition to participation on the Premier
Affiliate Strategy Council. 

customer service
19
http://www.premierinc.com http://www.cnectgpo.com/
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Electronic Impact Report 2016
