ROSWELL, Ga., June 24, 2014 /PRNewswire/ --  Kimberly-Clark Health Care today announced it has received two Supplier Legacy Awards for operational excellence in both Nursing and Surgical Services from Premier, Inc., a leading healthcare improvement company uniting an alliance of approximately 3,000 U.S. hospitals and 110,000 other providers. Kimberly-Clark Health Care was recognized for its long-standing support of Premier members through exceptional local customer service and engagement, value creation through clinical excellence and commitment to lower costs.

"Kimberly-Clark Health Care is committed to delivering clinical solutions across the spectrum of care delivery to keep hospital staff and patients safe," said Chris Lowery, Vice President, Global Sales and Marketing, Kimberly-Clark Health Care. "Along with our portfolio of market-leading products, we provide education and compliance programs to help streamline nursing and surgical staff workflows and reduce the risk of healthcare-associated infections. We are proud to be recognized by Premier for these efforts to improve the quality of care at hospitals nationwide."

The Supplier Legacy Award recognizes suppliers that are actively engaged with Premier member providers, are committed to lowering healthcare costs through pricing and supply chain efficiencies, offer value based on individualized needs and situations and demonstrate corporate responsibility at community levels through assistance during disasters, scholarship support, volunteer activities and grants. Winners were selected based on the following criteria:

• Length of supplier engagement with Premier
• Supplier's commitment to lowering costs for Premier members
• Breakthroughs attendance
• Sales volume
• Market value provided by the contract 
• Corporate citizenship

"Kimberly-Clark Health Care has been supporting Premier members for years offering valuable products and services that help to lower supply chain costs and improve operating efficiencies," said Durral R. Gilbert, President, Supply Chain Services, Premier. "Kimberly-Clark Health Care also supported alliance members during periods of increased need at a local level. We're honored to recognize them as one of the first Legacy Award recipients."

Janis Harvey, Director National Accounts, Kimberly-Clark Health Care, accepted the award at Premier's 2014 annual Breakthroughs Conference and Exhibition in San Antonio, Texas, earlier this month.

About Premier, Inc.

Premier, Inc. is a leading healthcare improvement company, uniting an alliance of approximately 3,000 U.S. hospitals and 110,000 other providers to transform healthcare. With integrated data and analytics, collaboratives, supply chain solutions, and advisory and other services, Premier enables better care and outcomes at a lower cost. Premier, a Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award recipient, plays a critical role in the rapidly evolving healthcare industry, collaborating with members to co-develop long-term innovations that reinvent and improve the way care is delivered to patients nationwide. Headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., Premier is passionate about transforming American healthcare. Please visit Premier's news and investor sites on www.premierinc.com ; as well as Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, Instagram, Foursquare and Premier's blog for more information about the company.

About Kimberly-Clark

Kimberly-Clark Corp. (NYSE: KMB) and its well-known global brands are an indispensable part of life for people in more than 175 countries. Every day, nearly a quarter of the world's population trust K-C's brands and the solutions they provide to enhance their health, hygiene and well-being. With brands such as Kleenex^®, Scott^®, Huggies^®, Pull-Ups^®, Kotex^® and Depend^®, Kimberly-Clark holds the No. 1 or No. 2 share position in more than 80 countries. To keep up with the latest K-C news and to learn more about the Company's 142-year history of innovation, visit www.kimberly-clark.com or follow us on Facebook or Twitter.  

Kimberly-Clark in the Healthcare Environment

Around the world, medical professionals turn to Kimberly-Clark for a portfolio of solutions that improve the health, hygiene and well-being of their patients and staff. As part of their healing mission, caregivers rely on Kimberly-Clark to deliver clinical solutions, hygiene & cleaning offerings, and educational resources that they can depend on to prevent, diagnose and manage a wide variety of healthcare-associated infections. A global enterprise of more than $1 billion, Kimberly-Clark Health Care holds the No. 1 or No. 2 market share position in several categories, including infection control solutions, surgical solutions, pain management, hygiene solutions, digestive health and respiratory health. Kimberly-Clark plans to spin-off Kimberly-Clark Health Care into Halyard Health, a stand-alone, publicly-traded company. For more information, visit http://www.kchealthcare.com.

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SOURCE Kimberly-Clark Health Care