Disruptive Innovation

By Truitt Allcott

Owens & Minor celebrates supplier diversity at its 11^th annual Healthcare Supplier Diversity Symposium

Know your customers and understand their needs – that was the advice that hospital executives, successful entrepreneurs, and supply chain executives gave to the attendees of Owens & Minor’s 11^th annual Healthcare Supplier Diversity Symposium held in September in Richmond, Va. Owens & Minor hosted approximately 200 symposium participants from around the country, including leaders of women-, minority-, and veteran-owned enterprises, major healthcare providers, distributors, and industry-leading manufacturers.

Responding to a changing system
In opening the Symposium, the theme of which was “D&I: Disruptive Innovation,” Owens & Minor Director of Supplier Diversity Dr. Dannellia Green issued a call to action: “I challenge you to think about things differently. Dare to think, dare to do, and dare to be bold.”

She noted that Owens & Minor has a long-standing commitment to advancing the cause of supplier diversity in healthcare. “This Symposium is an advocacy mechanism for diversity and inclusion. By elevating the visibility of how the dynamic changes that are taking place in our industry might impact the ‘least of these,’ this symposium seeks to promote innovative ways to grow while doing the most good.”

The rapid evolution of the healthcare environment was a prevailing theme of this year’s event.

Pamela M. Sutton-Wallace, chief executive officer of the University of Virginia Medical Center and the featured keynote speaker, noted that the healthcare industry is undergoing a period of profound change. Citing examples such as telemedicine, alternate-site care delivery, and rising consumerism among patients, she urged conference goers to use their energy and imagination to bring innovative solutions to healthcare. Diverse suppliers can play a unique role by focusing on optimizing efficiency in the healthcare system, she said.

While Sutton-Wallace acknowledged it can be tough for smaller companies to compete against the big players in healthcare, her advice to entrepreneurs and diversity companies included the following: Develop a compelling value proposition; deliver results; find a niche; create and maintain relationships; and most importantly, be transformational, not transactional. “Diversity is when you’re invited to the party. Inclusion is when you’re asked to dance.”

“No trouble, no triumph”
Ed Hardin, system vice president, supply chain management for CHRISTUS Health, which has a robust supplier diversity program, noted that for his organization, “supplier diversity is about being local, and it has to be community based.” He also noted that the CHRISTUS supplier diversity effort aligns closely with the CHRISTUS values of dignity, integrity and stewardship.

Later in the morning, the Symposium featured a CEO Panel with Owens & Minor President & CEO Cody Phipps, GHX President & CEO Bruce Johnson, and Women’s Business Enterprise National Council President & CEO Pamela Price-Eason. “It is a very dynamic time in healthcare, and we see an absolute need for change,” said Phipps. “The system cannot sustain itself unless we make changes.” He noted that there is an estimated $150 billion of waste due to complexity in the healthcare supply chain, and asked the group, “How do we go after that together?” When asked where small businesses should invest, Johnson said, “Invest in areas that will make your business easier to do business with. Invest in ways to automate your data flow.”

A highlight of this year’s Symposium was the dinner keynote address from Randal Pinkett, Ph.D., founder, chairman, and CEO of BCT Partners. Pinkett, an entrepreneur, speaker, and scholar, has received numerous awards and is a published author. His message to the attendees was that they should dare to try and dare to fail. “No trouble, no triumph,” he said. “You must go through to grow through.” Pinkett noted that we are in the midst of a new era in healthcare, and that we need a new mindset. “We must embrace the innovator’s mindset – cultivating a healthy acceptance of failure as a path to success.”

Finally that evening, the presentation of the annual Earl G. Reubel Awards was made. The award was established by Owens & Minor to honor the life and legacy of the late Earl G. Reubel, co-founder of Virginia-based Kerma Medical Products, Inc. Awards were given in three categories, and the winners were:

• Hospital, Integrated Healthcare Delivery System, or GPO of the Year – CHRISTUS Health of Dallas.
• Diverse Business of the Year – Broadline Medical of Richmond, Calif.
• Civic Leader of the Year – Kenneth Grant, vice president, general services, Johns Hopkins Hospital, and vice president, supply chain management, Johns Hopkins Health System.

Panels and workshops

Over the two days, guests were engaged in a number of panels and workshops featuring industry experts such as Matthew Rowan, president and CEO of the Health Industry Distributors Association; Dave McKinley, chief commercial officer of Henry Schein, Inc.; and Javara Perrilliat, vice president of strategic supply management for Owens & Minor. This panel tackled how to define the Value of Supply Chain Integration. Another panel, which focused on New Business and Operational Models in Healthcare, featured Linda Haberstroh, president of Phoenix Textile Corporation, and William “Joe” Reubel, president and CEO of Kerma Medical Products, Inc. Rounding out the event was a panel on Connecting and Contracting to Win, featuring Mark Cartwright, senior director of supplier diversity of Vizient; Carmen Ortiz-McGhee, senior vice president and resident sales director, Aon Risk Solutions – The Capital; and Deborah Williams, senior director, sourcing and supplier diversity for Premier, Inc.

Organizers held a charity golf tournament and donated proceeds to Excel to Excellence Foundation, Inc., founded by Super Bowl winning athlete and former Seattle Seahawks fullback Michael Robinson. One of the foundation’s programs, Team Excel, uses a “reverse” fantasy football format, where students become the fantasy athletes and the professional athletes and community mentors serve as team coaches. Students compete weekly on grades, attendance and community service.

Event sponsors included the Healthcare Supplier Diversity Alliance, B. Braun, Dell Services, Medtronic and VCU Health. Other sponsors were BD, Bon Secours, Kerma Medical Products, MAC Medical, SourceMark, Trinity Sterile and 3M. More information about this year’s symposium and supplier diversity efforts can be found on owens-minor.com.

Truitt Alcott is director of investor and media relations at Owens & Minor.