Business notebook: Vizient stays bullish on health-care business

While there may be uncertainty about the future of the overall industry, the nation's largest member-owned health-care services company, Vizient, is eager to move forward, said the company's chief people officer, Colleen Risk.

The Irving, Texas-based company opened an office in Cape Girardeau after acquiring MedAssets' spend and clinical-resource management and Sg2 segments in February 2016. As a whole, Vizient uses its members' purchasing power to improve patient outcomes, with nearly $100 billion in annual purchasing volume and a client list that includes academic, pediatric and community health-care providers and more.

The Cape Girardeau office, with a staff of about 100 people, provides support functions such as accounting, IT and analytics.

Risk said she couldn't speak to the history of MedAssets, which experienced layoffs that affected its Cape Girardeau office in 2015. At that time, MedAssets was looking for an acquisition partner, and Vizient was "looking at our go-forward strategy as a company, whether to build, buy or partner," Risk said.

Pamplona Capital Management bought MedAssets for $2.7 billion, and Vizient acquired certain MedAssets business segments for an undisclosed sum in February 2016.

"When the MedAssets opportunity came up, the timing was right," Risk said. "We realized our two companies, previously competitors, had many similarities, but we also had different strengths that complemented one another."

For example, Risk cited as a strength of Vizient's its sourcing and supply-chain history and said the MedAssets acquisition provided a strong consulting and advisory team.

"We each offered different analytics tools and solutions that worked well together and could offer different but complementary insights to our hospital members," Risk said.

Vizient saw the Cape Girardeau office as a useful asset, she said.

"Following the acquisition, we of course reviewed all of our business operations and integration opportunities. But actually, moving out of the Cape was never on the table.

"We saw value in staying in the area, and our employees in the Cape office were happy in their location. Keeping the office in Cape Girardeau was an easy and quick decision following the acquisition," she said.

And a year later, Risk said business has been steady. Vizient is meeting integration goals, thanks in part to employees in Cape Girardeau, she said.

"As for expansion plans, we are not able to share HR details about jobs, but we do anticipate we will maintain or slightly grow our employee base," she said.

She acknowledged the uncertainty the future appears to hold with the health-care industry, as well as the fact major changes are possible, but said her company remains optimistic.

"The need to lower costs and improve quality will remain constant," she said. "And that is where we focus for our customers. So we believe we will continue to see growth and innovation within our company in response to this ever-evolving health-care landscape."

Business licenses

• The bank at 17 S. Mount Auburn Road now is a Sterling Bank after First Community Bank merged with Sterling this month, according to a business-license application.
• Florist Magnolia Market applied for a license at 206 Independence St. in Cape Girardeau. The anticipated opening date is listed as Feb. 1.

tgraef@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3627