The Delta Purchasing Alliance (“DPA”) generates a lot of interest based on our ability to provide health centers with significant cost savings on medical supplies and equipment. This will always be a main focus of the DPA, and we will continually work to enhance savings for our core mission: community health centers.
One of the benefits of developing a critical mass of DPA clients (i.e., all of your health centers) is that our purchasing alliance begins to draw attention of many types of suppliers/vendors who service the community health center market. In this issue of the newsletter, we have highlighted a “transition” at Staples. Staples is our preferred office supply partner and, while roughly half of the DPA’s member health centers already participate in our office supply savings program, others of you might want to consider looking into the savings we’re able to provide through Staples. The DPA has a discount tier agreement that is generally not available to other health centers, and our participating health centers are saving thousands of dollars each year as a result.
Most of you are already aware that the DPA’s group purchasing backbone, Provista/Vizient, provides discounts on thousands of products and services outside of medical supplies and equipment. This newsletter provides a link to a number of “facility” contracts that are available at discounted rates through Provista/Vizient, such as furniture suppliers, casework distributors, elevator maintenance vendors and flooring/roofing contractors. Before you spend another dollar on your facilities, check the contracted vendor list and see what discounts are available to you!
Finally, a focus of the DPA going forward will be to expand the number and types of savings programs we’re able to offer our members. This is our obligation to you. Importantly, we want your assistance in evaluating which savings opportunities are of most interest to your health centers. To that end, you’ll be receiving some membership surveys in the coming months where we’ll seek to get baseline information on what your health centers currently spend in areas like dental supplies, translation services, janitorial/facility products, etc. We hope you’ll all make an effort to participate in those surveys as your responses will provide the DPA’s direction and priorities moving forward.
Complete the Capital Expansion Questionnaire
Download Additional Contract Spreadsheet
The DPA is community health center-owned and operated. We share a mission with all of you—to enable our front line health care providers to provide top quality services to underserved populations by maximizing cost savings on the supplies, equipment and services those providers need to do their jobs. And, on behalf of the DPA and our health center board of directors, I want to thank all of you for being part of our alliance.
Don Daniel
Executive Director
Community Health Best Practices, LLC