Premier Alliance says it recently became the first healthcare group purchasing organization to offer a group buy opportunity for meals-ready-to-eat (MREs)

Premier Alliance says it recently became the first healthcare group purchasing organization to offer a group buy opportunity for “meals-ready-to-eat” (MREs). The 2008 updated Joint Commission emergency management standards require a healthcare organization to have response efforts to manage critical functions for 96 hours, including an adequate supply of food. “Our group buy opportunity supports Premier members’ emergency planning efforts by offering an attractive solution for a vital component—food,” says Dave Edwards, Premier’s vice president of Supplier Relations and Business Development. The six-month group purchasing event with Ameriqual Group of Evansville, IN., and The Wornick Company of Cincinnati began June 15 and ends December 15, 2007.