CHATSWORTH, Calif., July 6, 2010 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- IRIS International, Inc. (Nasdaq:IRIS), a leading manufacturer of urinalysis systems and consumables for use in hospitals and commercial laboratories worldwide, announced today that it is the winner of the fifth annual Pinnacle Award presented by the Premier healthcare alliance.
"We are delighted to be honored by Premier for the third consecutive year in recognition of performance excellence and exceeding expectations. Premier's prestigious Pinnacle Award is a special honor bestowed on an elite group of 38 companies, out of approximately 800 suppliers with whom Premier contracts and we are particularly proud of this achievement," stated Thomas Warekois, IRIS Corporate Vice President and President of the Iris Diagnostics Division.
Winners are recognized for their outstanding management of Premier agreements and drive toward the mutual goal of providing clinical and financial value to the not-for-profit hospitals that are members of the Premier alliance. Premier's Pinnacle Award is intended to reward Premier's contracted suppliers that support attainment of mutual goals, drive contract utilization and are committed to performance improvement.
Iris accepted the award at the 2010 Premier Annual Breakthroughs Conference & Exhibition in Washington, DC. The award ceremony was held at the Gaylord National Hotel and Convention Center on June 9.
"We thank Premier for this recognition, which is a reflection of the value and commitment that the Iris team places on collaborating with Premier in consistently providing the best possible urinalysis products and service, while delivering improved health care at lower cost to Premier's members and customers," Mr. Warekois said.
"The Pinnacle Award honors Premier valued suppliers that strive for collaboration and performance excellence to benefit the alliance and we are honored to recognize these top performers," said Premier Purchasing Partners president Mike Alkire.
Premier's Pinnacle Award is intended to reward Premier's contracted suppliers that support attainment of mutual goals, drive contract utilization and are committed to performance improvement.
For more information, please visit: http://www.premierinc.com/about/news/awards/index.jsp.
About the Premier healthcare alliance
Premier is a performance improvement alliance of more than 2,300 U.S. hospitals and 67,000-plus other healthcare sites working together to achieve high quality, cost-effective care. Owned by not-for-profit hospitals, Premier maintains the nation's most comprehensive repository of clinical, financial and outcomes information and operates a leading healthcare purchasing network. A world leader in helping deliver measurable improvements in care, Premier works with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and the United Kingdom's National Health Service North West to improve hospital performance. Headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., Premier also has offices in San Diego, Philadelphia and Washington. www.premierinc.com
About IRIS International, Inc.
IRIS International is a leading global in vitro diagnostics company focused on products that analyze particles and living cell forms and structures, or morphology of a variety of body fluids. The Company's products leverage its strengths in flow imaging technology, particle recognition and automation to bring efficiency to hospital and commercial laboratories. The initial applications for its technology have been in the urinalysis market and the Company is the leading worldwide provider of automated urine microscopy and chemistry systems, with an installed base of more than 2,700 systems in more than 50 countries. The Company is expanding its core imaging and morphology expertise into related markets and is developing applications in hematology and urinary tract infections. In addition, the Company is developing molecular diagnostic tests based on its Nucleic Acid Detection Immunoassay, or NADiA®, platform, with applications in oncology and infectious disease. For more information, visit www.proiris.com.