Medical Action Industries Inc (Hauppauge, NY) sent 26 pallets of its supplies to Haiti through MedWish International. The company is a Corporate Product Donor through the charity, which it has supported since 2005.

ndd Medical Technologies (Andover, MA) received 510(k) clearance from the FDA (Rockville, MD) for its Easyone Pro™ Respiratory Analysis System. According to the company, EasyOne Pro is the first lung function instrument to allow single breath DLCO measurement outside of the lung function laboratory. Its ultrasound technology eliminates complex calibration and maintenance procedures.

LSU Health Care Services Division (Baton Rouge, LA) and Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center (OLOL) (Baton Rouge, LA) agreed on a public-private partnership that will transfer the University’s graduate medical education program and inpatient hospital services from Earl K. Long Medical Center (Baton Rouge, LA) to OLOL, effective February 8, 2010. OLOL has agreed to spend at least $100 million on capital improvements. Prior to this agreement, LSU officials planned to build a new $300 million hospital to replace Earl K Long. The state has contributed $24 million and will add another $14 million in Medicaid financing to help OLOL handle the influx of new patients. When the project is complete by 2014, OLOL will have at least 110 medical residency slots, up from its current 40 slots. Renovations and new services will include 60 new beds, Baton Rouge's first Level I trauma center, and a medical education building. Earl K Long, which is old and in poor condition, has had trouble gaining accreditation. The University is expected to return the physical plant to the state.

Saint Mary's Hospital (Passaic, NJ) emerged from bankruptcy after its reorganization plan was approved in February 2010. It entered bankruptcy in March 2009 with $100 million in debt. Saint Mary's lost $6 million on an operating budget of $160 million in FY 2009, compared with a $21 million loss on a $171 million budget in 2008, but expects to either break even or turn a profit in 2010.

MDSI (Atlanta, GA) has released a detailed report on the emergence of Regional Purchasing Coalitions (RPCs). The report is based on an extensive survey conducted by MDSI of industry administrators, supply chain representatives, clinicians and other stakeholders. The findings include the growth of RPCs and reasons behind the growth, categories in purchasing that seem to benefit the most from RPCs, how many health systems and hospitals plan to continue to be a part of an RPC in the future, and total purchasing trends. This report also includes advice for suppliers from over 75 RPCs. To purchase the report, contact Tom Middleton at 770-263-5252, or tmiddleton@mdsi.org.

Amerinet Inc (St. Louis, MO) awarded an agreement to SonoSite Inc (Bothell, WA) for its suite of point-of-care products. The contract was effective January 1, 2010 and goes through March 31, 2013.

ANAE (Association of National Account Executives) (Laguna Niguel, CA) announced that its spring GPO Training Class will be held in Dallas on April 13-14, 2010. MedAssets (Alpharetta, GA), Premier Inc (Charlotte, NC), Novation LLC (Irving, TX) and Amerinet Inc (St. Louis, MO) will present an in depth look at their GPO and how to utilize the tools they make available to help you maximize your sales. The class will also include a site visit to Novation on the 13th. Visit www.anae.us/anae_university.html for more information.

ANAE also announced the next government contracting class will be held in Chicago on May 11-12, 2010. Dennis Daar of Medical Strategies and Gary Gustafson of ANAE will present what you need to know about contracting with the government. Visit www.anae.us/gov_training.html for more information. The rest of the 2010 ANAE schedule is as follows: Annual meeting is July 27-29, 2010 (www.anae.us/conference.html); 2nd annual O.R. Nurse Manager Reverse Tradeshow & Conference August 17-18, 2010 in Las Vegas (www.anae.us/or_nurse_expo.html).

Premier Purchasing Partners (Charlotte, NC), the group purchasing organization of Premier Inc (Charlotte, NC), awarded new agreements for bedside trays and needles to Brusse Hospital Disposables (Hauppauge, NY), a veteran owned small business enterprise; CareFusion 2200 Inc (San Diego, CA); and Covidien (Mansfield, MA). The contracts, effective February 1, 2010, are available to acute care and continuum of care members of the Premier healthcare alliance.

Quotes last updated at 2/7/2010 4:29:39 PM EST