[November 19, 2012]

More Than 1,100 Premier Healthcare Alliance Employees Donate 4,400 Hours of Community Service in Charlotte

1,100 employees of the Charlotte-based Premier healthcare alliance visited 24 locations across the region on November 13, donating 4,400 hours of community service as a part of their annual conference.

In partnership with Hands On Charlotte, Premier employees participated in landscaping at schools; processing clothing and food donations; and gardening, painting and doing construction work at a ranch for special needs individuals.

"We were honored to work with Premier again this year, coordinating volunteer projects for its annual all-employee conference," said Eric Law, executive director of Hands On Charlotte, a nonprofit organization that strengthens the community by making volunteering more accessible to individuals, families, groups and businesses. "This event is tangible evidence of Premier's commitment to the quality of life in our community. Premier employees exemplify this not only during their annual all-employee volunteer day, but throughout the year."

Over the past nine years, the company has donated nearly 25,000 hours of service in Charlotte during the company's community service day as a part of its all-employee annual conference. Employees volunteer as part of Premier's corporate social responsibility program and commitment to partner with the many organizations around the nation that have devoted their energies to improving their communities. The program encourages direct community service by both individuals and teams.

"Giving back to our community is core to the values we practice in our work each day and our overall dedication to social responsibility," said Susan DeVore, Premier president and CEO. "We look forward to continuing our efforts to further support people in the Charlotte area and nationwide."

Premier also provides paid time off for employees that wish to volunteer on other days during he year, donating $100 to registered charities for every eight eligible hours an employee volunteers.

Employees can wear jeans to work every day, as appropriate, on behalf of their efforts to raise money for national charitable organizations. Premier matches 50 percent of all employee contributions to nonprofit organizations. This month, Premier employees are raising money for The American Red Cross's special fund to help relieve those impacted by Hurricane Sandy. And, any donation of $50 or more is automatically eligible for a company match.

Premier's corporate social responsibility program also recognizes innovative not-for-profit organizations that meet the needs of the medically underserved and those outside the healthcare mainstream. Established 21 years ago, the Monroe E. Trout Premier Cares Award program annually honors a winner and five runners-up with $220,000 in cash awards along with opportunities for publicity and knowledge-sharing.

During Premier's annual conference last week, employees were offered biometric screening tests and flu shots. They attended educational sessions to further support their mission to improve the health of communities, including learning more about what the election means for healthcare and how to innovate their practices to better support providers. Sixteen employees and eight teams were also recognized with the annual Values Award for exuberantly demonstrating Premier's values of integrity, passion for performance, innovation and focus on people.

Premier's presence in Charlotte dates back to 1969 and its Ballantyne headquarters office is a LEED certified building to help improve the environment. Premier also promotes healthy lifestyles by hosting wellness initiatives for employees, who participate in numerous walks, runs and similar fitness events, both for their own health and to support programs and organizations working to improve health.

About Hands On Charlotte

Hands On Charlotte is a nonprofit volunteer service organization. It promotes volunteerism and direct community service to meet Charlotte's most critical needs. Its mission is to strengthen the community and enrich lives by mobilizing a diverse corps of citizens in direct volunteer service.

About the Premier healthcare alliance, Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award recipient

Premier is a performance improvement alliance of more than 2,700 U.S. hospitals and 90,000 other sites using the power of collaboration and technology to lead the transformation to coordinated, high-quality, cost-effective care. Owned by hospitals, health systems and other providers, Premier operates a leading healthcare purchasing network with more than $4 billion in annual savings. Premier also maintains the nation's largest clinical, financial and outcomes database with information on 1 in 4 patient discharges. A world leader in delivering measurable improvements in care, Premier works with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., Premier also has an office in Washington. http://www.premierinc.com. Stay connected with Premier on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

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