2024 Health Care Champions Health Care Professional: Jarrett Finnell

For Jarrett Finnell, there is no better profession than one in health care, where the community benefits from the reinvesting of local health systems’ profits.

As the director of materials management for Citizens Memorial Hospital, Finnell’s years of experience have spearheaded innovation in the hospital’s supply chain, helping clinicians support patient care.

“A supply chain leader has a unique role in health care,” Finnell says. “I am always focused on solving problems affecting patient care through distribution functions impacting front-line staff, as well as strategic sourcing initiatives through production selection, contract compliance and capital equipment acquisition.”

Using skill sets gained as a certified public accountant, Finnell supports ongoing operations in patient care through creating financial improvement across his organization. His teams have partnered with aggregation groups, which are a collection of hospitals working together to provide commitments to manufacturers in exchange for better prices.

“I led a team implementing an aggregation group membership at Ellett Memorial Hospital,” Finnell says. “The small rural hospital was able to leverage the group’s $2 billion in spend to obtain contract pricing typically unreachable for a small organization.”

Currently, Finnell leads a team implementing an aggregation group membership at Citizens Memorial Hospital. The Achieve program connects hospitals across the U.S. to drive competitive pricing in over 100 contract categories. Supported by the Mayo Clinic, the program reduces budgetary pressures on wages and new service lines and supports growth in patient care services.

“In few other environments are organizations expected to be sustainable amid a model that significantly underpays hospitals and skilled nursing facilities while incurring historical inflationary pressures,” he says. “I am committed to ensuring that supply chain continues to provide value used to recruit and retain staff and to continue to expand our programs and services for our patients.”

In 2025, Citizens Memorial Hospital will open a Dialysis and Nephrology Center for patients in Hickory, St. Clair, Cedar, Dade, Dallas and Polk counties.

In addition, a $100 million expansion of the hospital has started construction, , and Finnell’s dedication helps the hospital grow as it serves its community.

His devotion to the work comes from the time when difficulty breathing had his father admitted to a hospital. Finnell recalled a community of caregivers coming together to support him.

“When you’re in this position, receiving quality care is the most important thing you want for your loved one,” Finnell says. “I was overwhelmed with the importance of the work I do that is directly connected to the experience a patient and their family has during their hospital or skilled nursing facility stay, clinic visit or other health care experience.”