Skip to Navigation
University of Pittsburgh
Print This Page Print this pages

February 2, 2006

UPMC recognized for minority-, women-owned business efforts

UPMC recently was recognized by the National Minority Supplier Development Council as one of the nation’s top 15 corporations that contract with minority business enterprises.

In fiscal year 2005, UPMC directed more than $70 million to minority and women business enterprises — more than doubling spending over the previous five years.

UPMC’s aggressive outreach to minority businesses is headed by its supplier diversity program, which is building partnering relationships with such firms.

UPMC offers several programs to allow diverse businesses to increase their share of contracts awarded by the health care system. These include mentoring programs that are a part of the overall education process of all minority and women business enterprises with which UPMC conducts business.

UPMC has received five consecutive “Corporation of the Year” awards from the Pittsburgh Regional Minority Purchasing Council, a regional arm of the national council. Over the past four years, the health system has directed nearly $170 million to such firms. In addition, UPMC has a dedicated staff person, Vicki L. White, who is focused solely on these efforts.

“The UPMC supply chain management staff and the end user departments make the program succeed,” White said. “If there is an opportunity in their areas of expertise, it is their responsibility along with mine to search for a fit. However, it also has to be a good business decision for the organization from a cost and value standpoint before the vendor can truly achieve success.”

The National Minority Supplier Development Council network includes a national office in New York and 39 regional councils across the country.

There are 3,500 corporate members throughout the network, including America’s top publicly owned, privately owned and foreign-owned companies, as well as universities, hospitals and other institutions. The regional councils certify and match more than 15,000 minority-owned businesses with member corporations.

To learn more about the UPMC supplier diversity program, call 800/241-7686.


Leave a Reply