September 7, 2023 – Allina Health is leading a new economic development and impact strategy to expand business opportunities for local, diverse suppliers with health care providers and other community-based organizations such as universities, colleges and other large employers in Minnesota. The strategy is in collaboration with the Vizient’s Community Contracting Program, which aims to support and develop diverse suppliers and small businesses by creating a fertile economic ecosystem within their communities.
Allina Health’s guiding principles include promoting the inclusion of businesses owned by BIPOC community members and underrepresented and underserved people when purchasing goods or services and seizing the opportunity to work with suppliers interested in programs that look at inequities in BIPOC communities with the goal to develop actionable responses.
Additionally, economic development community partner organizations are welcome to tap into this contracting program to fully optimize the products and services offered by local, diverse-owned businesses. The program is expected to include more than 40 products and services across categories that support hospitals and other large employers including construction medical surgical products and biomedical services.
Vizient, which provides contracting services to more than half the nation’s healthcare providers, launched this innovative approach to supporting diverse suppliers and small businesses in 2020.