BY TOBY GOOLEY, SENIOR EDITOR
THE DC VELOCITY Q&A
thoughtleaders
As Intermountain Healthcare’s top supply chain
guy, Brent Johnson oversees the distribution of
some 2. 5 million medical items annually. And
that’s just part of his job.
INTERVIEW WITH BRENT JOHNSON
Intermountain man
AS HIS TITLE SUGGESTS, BRENT T.
Johnson, Intermountain Healthcare’s
vice president supply chain & support
services and chief purchasing officer,
oversees some areas that don’t normally
fall under a supply chain professional’s
purview. In addition to managing the
company’s $1.5 billion nonlabor spend,
he’s responsible for a number of other
functions that are pivotal to the Utah-based health-care provider’s success,
such as laundry and linen services, sustainability, environmental services, clinical engineering, food and nutrition,
information technology (IT) asset management, and printing.
Intermountain Healthcare’s senior
leadership views supply chain management as strategically important for the
company, and it has supported major
investments in labor and facility
resources that bring added value,
Johnson says. In 2012, the company
demonstrated its commitment to supply
chain excellence by opening the $40 million Intermountain Kem C. Gardner
Supply Chain Center, a 327,000-square-
foot distribution, warehouse, and office
complex near Salt Lake City that employs
more than 350 people. The facility, which
has qualified for Gold LEED (Leadership
in Energy and Environmental Design)
certification, stocks and distributes more
than 2. 5 million medical items annually.
The center brings together under a single
roof programs and services that previously had been scattered across
Intermountain’s system.
To Johnson’s mind there’s good reason
to place all that and more under the supply chain umbrella. The nonprofit’s supply chain organization, he believes, has
the expertise and problem-solving skills
to improve many of the processes and
activities that support Intermountain
Healthcare’s network of hospitals, clinics,
pharmacies, and other health services.
The more efficiently and cost-effectively
they are managed, the better the outcome
for patient and provider alike, he says.
In this interview, Johnson—who came
to the health-care field from the electric
utility industry—explains how this
inclusive approach as well as best practices he’s adopting from other industries
will help the company reduce the cost of
providing health services while maintaining its high standard of care.
QWhom does the new supply chain center serve?
A It was built to serve one company: Intermountain Healthcare. We’re
the largest company in Utah, with 33,000
