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Kimberly-Clark Health Care and I-Flow, LLC honored by Premier healthcare alliance for operational excellence

ROSWELL, Ga. – June 15, 2011 – – Kimberly-Clark Health Care and I-Flow, LLC, a Kimberly-Clark Health Care company, today announced that they are winners of the sixth annual Performance Award, presented by the Premier healthcare alliance.

Premier has contracts with more than 800 suppliers, and Kimberly-Clark Health Care and I-Flow are two of only 38 contracted suppliers to receive the Performance Award. Winners are recognized for their outstanding management of Premier agreements and drive toward the mutual goal of providing clinical and financial value to Premier alliance members. 

“We are honored to be recognized as top performers by Premier and selected for this respected award, underscoring our commitment to delivering high quality customer service,” said Joanne Bauer, president of Kimberly-Clark Health Care. “This is I-Flow’s third year and Kimberly-Clark Health Care’s fourth year receiving a performance award from Premier.  We look forward to continuing our valuable partnership with Premier as we support their focus on improving the health of the communities they touch.” 

Janis Harvey, senior director, National Accounts, Kimberly-Clark Health Care and Chris Smith, vice president, Strategic Accounts, I-Flow accepted the awards at the 2011 Annual Breakthroughs Conference and Exhibition in Nashville, Tenn. The award ceremony was held at the Gaylord Opryland Hotel and Convention Center on Wednesday, June 15.

“It is imperative for hospitals to operate in the highest quality environment at the best possible cost and Kimberly-Clark Health Care and I-Flow have been able to support alliance members in doing so,” said Mike Alkire, Premier Purchasing Partners president. “We’re proud to recognize both as top performing organizations.”

Premier's Performance Award applauds the efforts of contracted suppliers to meet and exceed operational expectations. In selecting recipients, performance data is collected and scored over four successive calendar quarters. 

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

Premier is a performance improvement alliance of more than 2,500 U.S. hospitals and 75,000-plus other healthcare sites using the power of collaboration to lead the transformation to high quality, cost-effective care. Owned by hospitals, health systems and other providers, Premier maintains the nation's most comprehensive repository of clinical, financial and outcomes information and operates a leading healthcare purchasing network. A world leader in helping deliver measurable improvements in care, Premier has worked with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and the United Kingdom's National Health Service North West to improve hospital performance. 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.

About Kimberly-Clark in the Healthcare Environment

Around the world, medical professionals turn to Kimberly-Clark for a wide portfolio of solutions that improve the health, hygiene and well-being of their patients and staff. As part of their healing mission, caregivers rely on Kimberly-Clark to deliver clinical solutions and educational resources that they can depend on to prevent, diagnose and manage a wide variety of healthcare-associated infections. This more than $1 billion global enterprise of Kimberly-Clark Corporation holds the No. 1 or No. 2 market share position in several categories, including infection control solutions, surgical solutions, pain management and digestive health. And throughout the care continuum, patients and staff alike trust Kimberly-Clark medical supplies and devices, KLEENEX tissues, Kimberly-Clark Professional skin care products and SCOTT towels for day-to-day needs. For more information, visit http://www.kchealthcare.com. 

About I-Flow

I-Flow, a Kimberly-Clark Health Care Company, is a leader and innovator in pain management and drug delivery technology for physicians and their patients. I-Flow's suite of pain management products, led by its flagship line, the ON-Q® Pain Relief System (ON-Q), provides reliable and simple non-narcotic, regional anesthesia therapies that redefine post-surgical recovery by eliminating many of the side effects customarily associated with narcotics. Clinical studies have shown that patients who receive ON-Q generally get back to normal faster after surgery, which results in shorter hospital stays, reduced costs and higher patient satisfaction. More than 2.5 million patients have enjoyed more comfortable recoveries, with ON-Q.