Blanchard Valley Health System (BVHS), which includes Bluffton Hospital, has been recognized by healthcare supply chain leader Global Healthcare Exchange (GHX) as a recipient of the 2024 Supply Chains of Distinction Award. This award honors top performing hospitals and health systems in North America that have demonstrated exceptional commitment to supply chain excellence, innovation, and resilience.

The Supply Chains of Distinction Award is based upon a set of “perfect order” metrics, rated as a percentage of purchase order lines sent across the GHX Exchange (integrated) that are touchless and completely automated, from purchase through payment.

“Supplies,” for the purposes of this award, include everything except pharmaceuticals. A hospital might order anything from cotton balls to gloves to catheters, and there are many types and sizes of some of these items. In 2024, BVHS had a total of around 185,000 different line items on its list, Crist said.

Crist noted that healthcare, like many other fields, has faced supply chain challenges in recent years. Effective use of technology is even more helpful in this current landscape, she said, since if there is any type of delay, or a particular item is on backorder, her office is notified immediately.

BVHS has received this award multiple times, although the award previously had a different name.

This year’s recipients will be honored at the 2025 GHX Summit taking place May 13-16, 2025, in Atlanta, Georgia. The full list of 2024 winners can be found at https://www.ghx.com/awards/supply-chains-of-distinction/