Owens & Minor to Host 6th Annual Healthcare Supplier Diversity Symposium

Owens & Minor, Inc. (NYSE:OMI) will host its 6^th Annual Healthcare Supplier Diversity Symposium on September 13-14, 2011, in Richmond, Virginia. This year’s symposium is expected to draw approximately 400 participants, including leaders from businesses owned by women, minorities, and veterans, as well as representatives from major healthcare systems, medical device and product manufacturers, pharmaceutical firms, healthcare distributors, academia and government. The theme of this year’s symposium is "From Inclusion to Partnership: Delivering Value through Supplier Diversity,” and it will explore ways to improve utilization of diverse suppliers in the healthcare supply chain. Joining Owens & Minor in hosting the event are the Virginia Minority Supplier Development Council (VMSDC), the Healthcare Supplier Diversity Alliance (HSDA), and the National Association of Health Services Executives (NAHSE).

The symposium will be held on Wednesday, September 14, 2011, at the Greater Richmond Convention Center in historic downtown Richmond. As in past years, the symposium will feature panel discussions, workshops and networking opportunities for the diversity-business leaders and healthcare company executives, policy makers, academics and government representatives.

A reception and dinner will be held at the Convention Center on the evening of Tuesday, September 13, 2011, with keynote speaker Luke Visconti, chief executive officer of DiversityInc Media LLC. Visconti, who founded DiversityInc Media LLC in 1998, is a frequent lecturer on the business benefits of diversity to corporations, business groups and non-profit organizations. As CEO, he directs all editorial and business operations of the publication, as well as events and the company’s consulting practice. Visconti, who earned his bachelor’s degree from Rutgers University, was on active duty with the U.S. Navy from 1982 to 1990 as a naval aviator and commissioned officer, and served in the reserves until 1992.

"At Owens & Minor, we understand that we serve an industry that grows increasingly more diverse every year,” said Craig R. Smith, president & chief executive officer of Owens & Minor. "Our healthcare provider customers, suppliers and vendors are led by a wide range of healthcare professionals, and together we serve an increasingly diverse patient population. Therefore, at Owens & Minor, we know it makes good business sense to expand the range and diversity of our business partners, as this strategy will ultimately benefit the healthcare industry as a whole.”

On September 14, the day-long symposium will feature networking opportunities, panel discussions, breakout sessions, and a luncheon with panel speakers Cynda Ann Johnson, MD, president and founding dean of the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine, and Tonya Mallory, chief executive officer and co-founder of Health Diagnostic Laboratory, Inc.

The format of the symposium allows the participants to interact with leaders from a variety of healthcare businesses, as well as representatives from leading healthcare providers, group purchasing organizations, manufacturers and distributors, policy makers, academics and key executives. The symposium organizers hope to raise awareness of the opportunities and challenges for supplier diversity in healthcare and to enhance development of diversity in organizations working within the healthcare supply chain.

In conjunction with this year’s Healthcare Supplier Diversity Symposium, the Richmond Region of Professional Women in Healthcare will host a gathering at the Virginia War Memorial Monday, September 12, 2011, with keynote speaker Shirley Gibson, MSHA, RN, FACHE, associate vice president of nursing, VCU Health System. Gibson will lecture on "The Secrets to the Success of Living Your Dream,” rules for achieving happiness in life by doing what you love.

For more information about the symposium, please visit www.owens-minor.com. Owens & Minor uses its Web site as a channel of distribution for material company information, including news releases, investor presentations and financial information.

Owens & Minor, Inc., (NYSE:OMI) a FORTUNE 500 company headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, is a leading national distributor of name-brand medical and surgical supplies and a healthcare supply-chain management company. Owens & Minor is also a member of the Russell 2000^® Index, which measures the performance of the small-cap segment of the U.S. equity universe, as well as the S&P MidCap 400, which includes companies with a market capitalization of $1 billion to $4.4 billion that meet certain financial standards. With a diverse product and service offering and distribution centers throughout the United States, the company serves hospitals, integrated healthcare systems, alternate site locations, group purchasing organizations, and the federal government. Owens & Minor provides technology and consulting programs that improve inventory management and streamline logistics across the entire medical supply chain – from origin of product to patient bedside. For news releases, or for more information about Owens & Minor, visit the company website at www.owens-minor.com.