VHA Inc., a national network of not-for-profit hospitals based in Irving, Texas, has recognized eight health care organizations for supply chain management excellence and named them as winners of the 2009 VHA Leadership Award for Supply Chain Management Excellence.

According to Earth Times, VHA serves more than 1,400 not-for-profit hospitals and more than 24,000 non-acute health care organizations nationwide. The VHA 2009 Leadership Award for Supply Chain Management is given to member organizations that demonstrate high levels of performance in one of three areas:

- Sourcing and resource management
- Distribution, logistics and inventory management
- Supply chain innovation and creativity

The 2009 winners are:

1- Cape Cod Healthcare, Cape Cod, Mass.
2- Edward Hospital, Naperville, Ill.
3- Floyd Medical Center, Rome, Ga.
4- Freeman Health System, Joplin, Mo.
5- Novant Health, Charlotte, N.C.
6- Providence Health and Services, Seattle, Wash.
7- TMC Healthcare, Tucson, Ariz.
8- University Community Hospital, Tampa, Fla.

"Improving supply chain performance positively impacts a hospital's bottom line, positioning the organization to have more resources to provide better care," said Scott Downing, executive vice president at VHA. "By prioritizing supply chain efficiency, these health care organizations are conserving resources, and since we all pay into the health care system in some way, we want health care providers to be both effective and efficient. These award winners are setting the right example for other hospitals."