Arizant Healthcare Inc. Fluid Warming Systems Under New Consorta Contract

Minneapolis, MN (October 2003) – Arizant Healthcare Inc. has announced a three-year agreement with Consorta for Arizant Healthcare's Rangerâ blood/fluid warming system, effective October 1, 2003. The Ranger system uses SmartHeat™ technology to continuously monitor the temperature of the heating surface. This constant monitoring provides consistent heating and allows the system to react quickly to changes in flow rates. The system uses economical, easy-to-use disposable warming sets and, because the system contains no water, it is virtually maintenance free.

Published research has correlated significant adverse consequences, such as impaired wound healing, cardiac events, altered drug metabolism and coagulopathies with inadvertent perioperative hypothermia. However, with prevention and management of hypothermia, patients experience a greater level of comfort and avoid postoperative shivering and the unpleasant sensation of feeling cold. In addition, meta-analysis results demonstrate that hypothermia averaging only 1.5°C below normal caused cumulative adverse outcomes, which added $2500 to $7000 per surgical patient to hospitalization costs.

In addition to the Ranger blood/fluid warming system, Arizant Healthcare manufactures forced-air warming and patient adjustable warming systems. For more information on products from Arizant Healthcare Inc., go to www.arizanthealthcare.com.

Consorta, Inc., based in suburban Chicago, is a leading healthcare resource management and group purchasing organization, whose shareholders are Catholic-sponsored, faith-based or non-profit health systems. As a cooperative, Consorta's shareholders and participants share fully in the organization's bottom-line performance and receive significant discounts through scale purchasing economies. Consorta's shareholder health systems operate more than half of all Catholic hospitals in the United States, own many extended and alternate care sites and have affiliate relationships with other non-profit hospitals and alternate care facilities. For more information, visit the company's web site at www.consorta.com.