Susan D. DeVore has been named president and chief executive officer (CEO) of the Premier healthcare alliance. She and current CEO Rick Norling are starting now to coordinate the transition process.
Following an extensive search process, the Premier Board of Directors selected DeVore, currently Premier’s chief operating officer (COO), as the ideal candidate to lead the alliance. “We are fortunate to have a candidate so well-qualified, experienced and knowledgeable about our alliance and the future of healthcare,” said Lowell Kruse, CEO of Heartland Health and chairman of the Premier board. “Susan has been a leading force behind many of Premier’s successes over the past five years, and she has enhanced the value delivered to the hospital owners and members of our alliance. She has the strategic insight to navigate the Premier alliance and the leadership skills to tackle ever more daunting challenges in reforming healthcare.”
According to current CEO Rick Norling, “Susan’s focus on strategy, her drive to innovate and her passion for continuous improvement are the embodiment of the values and culture of Premier. She understands the issues facing our not-for-profit hospital alliance members and has achieved sustainable results. She is passionate about finding the solutions that will drive positive change, and I am confident that under her leadership, the Premier alliance will reach a new level of performance in improving healthcare in America. I couldn’t be more pleased with this selection.”
As Premier’s COO, DeVore leads Premier’s four business units – Premier Purchasing Partners, LP; Premier Healthcare Informatics; Premier Consulting Solutions; and Premier Insurance Management Services, Inc. Under her leadership, DeVore consistently exceeded every strategic goal set forth by the board of directors. Prior to serving as COO, DeVore was president of Premier Purchasing Partners, where she led the supply chain division to its position as a leading group purchasing organization in the industry, with more than $33 billion in purchasing volume.
DeVore has also been active in driving Premier’s collaboratives to improve the quality, safety and consistency of patient care, including the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Premier Hospital Quality Incentive Demonstration pay-for-performance project; QUEST: High Performing Hospitals collaborative and the Premier Perinatal Safety Initiative.
“It is an honor and privilege to have the opportunity to lead this incredible organization,” DeVore said. “The Premier alliance’s obligation is to transform healthcare by working with our more than 2,100 not-for-profit hospitals nationwide to improve the quality and affordability of healthcare. We will build on the progress we have made, helping our members improve the health of the communities they serve.”
Before joining Premier, DeVore spent more than 20 years with Cap Gemini Ernst & Young as a senior healthcare industry management practice leader and member of the executive committee for the North American consulting organization. She has been named to Modern Healthcare’s list of the 100 Most Powerful People in Healthcare and to the magazine’s list of the Top 25 Women in Healthcare.
Source: Premier Purchasing