Southern Arizona Health Alliance members have saved nearly a million dollars over ten years by pooling purchasing power and sharing services such as laundry.

“The impact of SAHA includes purchasing new equipment by utilizing the purchasing power of everyone coming together, and simpler things like linens that has saved us so much money,” said Robert Seamon, Chief Executive Officer of Copper Queen Hospital. “That sounds like a little thing, but to a rural community that is huge.”

All four member hospitals – Benson Hospital, Copper Queen Hospital, Northern Cochise Community Hospital and Mount Graham Regional Medical Center – utilize the Vizient Tier System, which streamlines purchasing processing.

“Through that buying power, we get them supplies at a much better price,” said Andy Shanks, Director of SAHA. “We have a SAHA purchasing liaison that uses our buying power to make bids and get the best prices. Combined with the savings from utilizing the laundry services from Tucson Medical Center, we have saved these facilities nearly a million dollars in the last 10 years.”

Laundry services can get expensive, and only 5% of health care facilities have their own laundry department on campus, requiring them to outsource to third party vendors. Since Tucson Medical Center has its own laundry facility, it offers linen services to SAHA partners at a fraction of the cost – 60% less than what outside vendors charge.

When all is said and done, TMC does more than 6 million pounds of laundry per year.

“Helping rural facilities at a fraction of the cost isn’t just about saving money – it’s about being a true partner in healthcare,” said Jennifer Johnson, manager of Laundry at TMC. “When smaller hospitals face challenges with resources, we can step in and take one big worry off their plate. We have the equipment, the expertise, and the team to process their linen with the same high infection prevention standards we use for our own patients. In the end, it's about working together so every patient, no matter where they are, receives the same standard of clean safe linen care.”