Sep. 8, 2009 (Business Wire) -- Owens & Minor (NYSE-OMI) announced that it will host its 4th Annual Healthcare Supplier Diversity Forum on Wednesday, September 16, 2009, bringing together healthcare providers, academia, healthcare distributors and manufacturers, and women, veteran, and minority-owned businesses, to explore the opportunities and challenges in today’s healthcare industry. The keynote speaker at this year’s event is Dr. David Satcher, M.D., Ph.D., the 16th Surgeon General of the United States and Director of the Satcher Health Leadership Institute.
The goal of the Healthcare Supplier Diversity Forum is to explore the role that an increasingly diverse society will play in the future of healthcare. The annual event also fosters business and networking opportunities for companies owned by women, veterans and minorities, by connecting them with representatives from leading healthcare providers, group purchasing organizations, manufacturers and distributors.
“We live in an increasingly diverse society and it is so important that we expand the reach and range of our business partners to reflect the face of America today,” said G. Gilmer Minor, III, chairman of Owens & Minor. “Embracing diversity just makes good sense because it boils down to people – their expertise, commitment, teamwork and ability to solve problems.”
The 4th Annual Supplier Diversity Forum, sponsored jointly by Owens & Minor, the Virginia Minority Supplier Development Council, the Healthcare Supplier Diversity Alliance, and the National Association of Health Services Executives, will be held at Owens & Minor’s Mechanicsville, Virginia-based Home Office. The Healthcare Supplier Diversity Forum brings representatives together from the entire healthcare supply chain to encourage innovation and partnerships that address the needs of a more diverse society and healthcare industry.
“At this year’s forum, we hope to raise awareness of the challenges for women, veteran, and minority-owned businesses in the healthcare industry,” said Angela Wilkes, director of supplier diversity for Owens & Minor. “We also hope to encourage and enhance diversity in healthcare, because our rapidly changing society demands that we embrace diversity in healthcare in order to keep pace.”
For more information about the forum, please visit www.owens-minor.com. Owens & Minor uses its Web site as a channel of distribution for material company information, including news releases, investor presentations and financial information. This information is routinely posted and accessible under the Investor Relations section.
Owens & Minor, Inc., (NYSE: OMI) a FORTUNE 500 company headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, is a leading distributor of national name-brand medical and surgical supplies and a healthcare supply-chain management company. Owens & Minor is also a member of the Russell 2000® Index, which measures the performance of the small-cap segment of the U.S. equity universe, as well as the S&P MidCap 400, which includes companies with a market capitalization of $750 million to $3.3 billion that meet certain financial standards. With a diverse product and service offering and distribution centers throughout the United States, the company serves hospitals, integrated healthcare systems, alternate care locations, group purchasing organizations, and the federal government. Owens & Minor provides technology and consulting programs that improve inventory management and streamline logistics across the entire medical supply chain--from origin of product to patient bedside. For news releases, or for more information about Owens & Minor, visit the company Web site at www.owens-minor.com.
