Arlington, VA (July 14, 2003) - The Health Industry Group Purchasing Association (HIGPA) is pleased to announce that a new trading partner member executive, Brian Kocher, Vice President of National Accounts at Hill-Rom, and a returning Board member, Wayne Thompson, President and CEO of Joint Purchasing Corp. (JPC), have been appointed to HIGPA's Board of Directors.

Mr. Kocher's appointment to the HIGPA Board was due to the recent Board resignation of Kathy Hohenberger. The Board position was company specific so therefore Hill-Rom appointed a new representative to the HIGPA Board. Mr. Thompson is rejoining the Board, having previously served as Board Secretary while he was president and chief operating officer of Konica Medical Imaging. He is replacing Andrew Janover to fill JPC's position on the Board. They both join the HIGPA Board effective immediately for the term expiring December 31, 2003.

"HIGPA welcomes the recent appointments of Brian and Wayne to the Board. They each bring with them an extensive amount of health care supply chain experience, which I believe will be an asset to the Board during this critical turning point for the industry," said HIGPA President and CEO Robert Betz, Ph.D. "I know the Board looks forward to working with Brian and Wayne as we move forward."

Brian Kocher is vice president of national accounts at Hill-Rom, a leading global provider of integrated solution systems that help caregivers safely deliver effective and efficient care to their patients in acute care, long term care and home care environments. He has also held several management positions within Hill-Rom, including executive director of commercial finance. In this position he provided financial leadership to their global sales and service team.

"I am very excited about the opportunity to work with HIGPA and the rest of the Board," said Mr. Kocher. "I eagerly look forward to contributing to the group's efforts to provide value to the health care community."

Wayne Thompson currently serves as president and chief executive officer of JPC. Before joining JPC, Thompson served as president, chief operating officer and board member of Konica Medical Imaging, Inc. Prior to Konica, Thompson spent 23 years in various positions of increasing responsibility at Baxter Healthcare Corporation. In his last position at Baxter, Thompson served as Vice President, Health Systems, Corporate Sales and Marketing. In 2002, Thompson was the recipient of HIGPA's first Chairman's Award. The annual award recognizes an individual who has provided outstanding service to the Association and to the purchasing industry.

"After a brief six month hiatus from the HIGPA Board of Directors, I am glad to be back," said Mr. Thompson. "The people I have the opportunity to work with on the HIGPA Board make working with the Association a very rewarding experience. I look forward to once again supporting HIGPA and watching it grow and expand its influence within the health care arena to the benefit all trading and industry partners."

The following is a complete list of HIGPA's 2003 Board of Directors:

Chairman	Mark McKenna	Novation
Immediate Past Chair	Gerald Vicenzi	SYNERNET
Chairman-elect	Alfred J. LoBiondo	GNYHA Services
Treasurer	Todd Ebert	AmeriNet, Inc.
Secretary	Derwood Dunbar	MAGNET, Inc.
Board Member	Rand Ballard	MedAssets
Board Member	Karl Brother	Vector/AmeriNet
Board Member	Allan Fine	Peterson Consulting
Board Member	Ed Gravell	Cardinal Health
Board Member	Brian Kocher	Hill-Rom
Board Member	Wayne Thompson	JPC
Board Member	D. McWilliams Kessler	H.H. Kessler Foundation
Board Member	Larry Lankard	BG Industries
Board Member	Henry Levi	Eli Lilly & Co
Board Member	Jeffrey W Maysent	Premier, Inc.
Board Member	Darrel Weatherford	Consorta
President & CEO	Robert Betz, Ph.D.	HIGPA

HIGPA is a chartered trade association of approximately 170 health care purchasing and supply chain organizations. HIGPA's Industry Members include purchasing groups, associations, and health care provider alliances. HIGPA's Trading Partner members include many of the world's leading health care product manufacturers, distributors, wholesalers and related suppliers.

To learn more about HIGPA or the group purchasing industry, visit www.higpa.org or call 703-243-9262.

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