Four Decades of Collaboration Driving Healthcare Performance and Innovation
Healthcare organizations today are operating in an increasingly complex environment. Rising labor costs, greater clinical complexity, financial pressures and evolving reimbursement models all demand more from health systems than ever before. Yet many performance improvement efforts remain focused on solving isolated challenges rather than building an organization-wide foundation for long-term success.
For St. Luke’s University Health Network (SLUHN), the goal has never been simply to improve a metric or launch a successful initiative. It has been to create a model that can sustain performance across financial operations, clinical quality and value-based care as the organization continues to grow and evolve.
That commitment has shaped a nearly 40-year relationship with Premier. What began in 1986 as a group purchasing partnership has expanded to include analytics, benchmarking, advisory services, technology and collaborative improvement efforts designed to help the organization identify opportunities, reduce variation and drive continuous improvement across the enterprise.
Today, the results of that approach can be seen across multiple dimensions of performance.
“I always say Premier makes us better,” said Rick Anderson, President and Chief Executive Officer of St. Luke’s University Health Network.
Here’s a glimpse.
Financial Performance Built on Discipline and Visibility
As healthcare costs, supply disruptions and operational complexity have increased, SLUHN has focused on maintaining financial discipline through a combination of Premier’s supply chain expertise, data-driven decision-making and technology-enabled visibility.
“Sustainable performance doesn’t come from chasing individual savings opportunities,” said Joel Fagerstrom, Chief Operating Officer at St. Luke’s University Health Network. “It comes from creating the discipline, visibility and alignment needed to make better decisions year after year.”
Over the years, the organization has leveraged Premier’s group purchasing organization (GPO), advisory services and portfolio team to support sourcing decisions, evaluate clinical efficacy, address shortages and identify opportunities to reduce unnecessary variation across the enterprise. SLUHN has also utilized Premier’s CognitiveRx® technology to improve pharmacy visibility, anticipate disruptions and proactively manage high-cost inventory.
The result has been sustained financial impact. SLUHN’s supply cost per discharge is 30 percent lower than regional competitors, and its collaboration with Premier has generated more than $100 million in Premier-attributed value over three years, reflecting improvements designed to endure rather than reset.
“Premier is always upfront, out ahead of things, to help the hospitals perform well,” said Donna Sabol, Senior Vice President & Chief Quality Officer, St. Luke’s University Health Network. “Because of that, we do extremely well with the supply chain.”
Quality Performance Driven by Transparency and Benchmarking
SLUHN has also leveraged Premier data and analytics to reduce variation, benchmark performance and support continuous improvement across the system.The health system has received more than 200 healthcare quality awards, with SLUHN hospitals consistently being named to Premier’s 100 Top Hospitals® list. SLUHN was also recognized as a Premier 15 Top Health System® in 2026 and maintains strong safety and quality performance across its hospitals.
According to Sabol, access to trusted data has been foundational to the organization’s ability to identify opportunities for improvement and align teams around shared goals. When Premier developed a solution known today as Quality Continuum, SLUHN was among the earliest contributors and adopters. The organization also made a deliberate decision to rely on Premier analytics as its sole source of enterprise benchmarking truth.
“You can’t improve what you can’t see,” Sabol said. “Having a common source of truth allows us to identify variation, engage our clinical teams around data and focus improvement efforts where they will have the greatest impact.”
Preparing for the Future Through Value-Based Care
A comprehensive population health strategy supports success in value-based care (VBC) models and delivers significant benefits for patients, providers and the healthcare system. SLUHN has worked to strengthen its population health and accountable care capabilities through participation in Premier collaboratives and advisory programs.
Those efforts have helped the organization advance its Medicare Shared Savings Program (MSSP) performance, generating more than $120 million in cumulative shared savings and nearly $18 million in shared savings during 2024 alone.
“Success in value-based care requires more than strong performance in any single year,” said Dr. Robert Gayner, Vice President of Medical Affairs and Vice President of Value-Based Programs. “It requires governance, physician engagement, data transparency and a long-term commitment to continuous improvement.”
SLUHN’s relationship with Premier reflects how capabilities are applied across the enterprise, not in isolation but as a coordinated model for improvement at scale:
- Active participation in the Premier Perinatal Improvement Collaborative, advancing maternal and neonatal safety through evidence‑based interventions.
- Engagement with the Premier Patient Safety Organization (PSO) to reinforce a culture of safety and learning.
- Ongoing collaboration through Premier’s Population Health Management and advisory services from Premier’s Strategic Collaboratives team, supporting ACO performance, governance and systemwide alignment.
“I do think it’s all about relationships,” said Linda Gately, Vice President of Quality Performance Improvement and Compliance, St. Luke’s University Health Network. “It’s about relationships with our payers. It’s about our relationship with Premier. It helps us to be more successful, and it really is the key.”
Building Performance that Scales
Today, St. Luke’s continues to leverage data, benchmarking and collaborative improvement programs to support care quality, operational performance and readiness for emerging healthcare challenges. Leaders view continuous improvement not as a temporary initiative but as a long-term capability that helps the organization adapt and thrive.
“The healthcare industry has changed dramatically over the past several years, but our focus has remained the same: delivering high-quality care while operating responsibly,” said Sabol. “The strength of our partnership with Premier is that it supports both goals simultaneously.”
Want to see the full results? Download the complete SLUHN case study to explore the financial, quality and value-based care outcomes achieved through nearly four decades of collaboration with Premier.
Source link: https://premierinc.com/
