St. Louis Business Journal

September 29, 2003 -- HealthSouth Corp. has selected MedAssets HSCA as its exclusive supply chain partner and group purchasing organization for the next five and a half years.

Financial terms were not disclosed.

MedAssets HSCA will assume accountability to manage HealthSouth's supply costs and help provide more transparency into its supply chain purchasing process, the companies said.

Birmingham, Ala.-based HealthSouth (Pink Sheets: HLSH) provides outpatient surgery, diagnostic imaging and rehabilitative healthcare services at 1,700 locations in the United States and abroad. Its founder, Richard Scrushy, was fired as president and CEO by the company's interim management in March after the Department of Justice announced its ongoing criminal fraud investigation into the firm's accounting practices. The government alleges HealthSouth fabricated at least $2.5 billion in earnings since at least 1997.

St. Louis-based MedAssets HSCA is a group purchasing organization serving more than 16,000 healthcare providers nationwide.