It is not news to anyone to know Idaho’s population is rising, that it is one of the fastest-growing states in the nation. Idaho’s population growth rate in 2023 was more than double the national average, according to the Idaho Department of Labor.  

That growth is expected to continue and accommodating a ballooning population requires planning in many sectors, including health care.  

As Idaho’s largest health care provider, St. Luke’s is dedicated to meeting the needs of the communities we serve. This dedication extends to the enhancement and growth of supply chain and pharmacy processes.  

Enter the new Consolidated Service Center, a 332,700-square-foot, St. Luke’s-owned fulfillment and distribution facility located on Black Cat Road in Meridian. Currently still under construction by Okland Construction, the Consolidated Service Center, or CSC, is expected to receive its certificate of occupancy in late 2024 and be fully operational in 2025.

Understanding the facility’s benefits

Day to day, most people have the luxury of never stopping to consider the innerworkings of a supply chain — until things break down, as they did in 2020 at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Although St. Luke’s had already been researching the possibility of a centralized distribution facility prior to the pandemic, the necessity of such a facility came into stark relief as supply chains worldwide began to falter. St. Luke’s supply chain team found themselves fighting to acquire the supplies necessary for providing safety and care measures for health care teams and the patients they serve.  

"Many other health systems across the country are just now understanding the strategic value and importance in having a CSC, but we were very fortunate to have been ahead of the curve in our CSC planning," St. Luke’s Supply Chain Vice President Adrian Wengert said.  

"Our executives and board members were very supportive and encouraging, which helped guide a path forward for this strategic investment. Our St. Luke’s Supply Chain team faced a lot of challenges over the last few years, and I’m very appreciative and grateful for all we accomplished.” 

Since 2020, the St. Luke’s Pharmacy team members, like their Supply Chain counterparts, have continuously dealt with unprecedented shortages. At the beginning of 2024, there were 323 active medication shortages, amounting to the highest number of shortages since the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists began tracking shortages in 2001. Although that number is slowly coming down — currently, it sits around 300 — it is far from resolved.  

“The CSC will address critical challenges such as drug shortages and expand our capabilities in areas like large-scale sterile medication compounding,” St. Luke’s Chief Pharmacy Officer Kelley Curtis said. “These enhancements will not only improve our service delivery but also reinforce our commitment to providing high-quality care.”

The Consolidated Service Center’s role is to help alleviate these challenges — and more — by providing benefits to medical and non-medical supplies and pharmaceuticals throughout the health system, including: 

• Greater control of the supply chain and improved visibility to inventory. 
• Improved demand planning and forecasting. 
• Decreased reliance on third-party vendors and distributors. 
• Increased ordering and fulfillment efficiencies. 
• Decreased risk and decreases in unnecessary variation introduced with supply chain interruptions. 
• Additional space and flexibility to maintain buffer stock.  
• The addition of ancillary services to leverage the logistics network made possible through the location. 
• Increased savings through reduced outsourcing related to many of these activities. 
• More effective response to external factors and opportunities to standardize supplies, pharmaceuticals, suppliers and services.

Managing the supply chain through experienced leadership

CSC director Noal Chidester brings years of distribution and fulfillment experience and an eagerness to affect positive change.  

“The consolidation and standardization of products and services within the CSC will allow us to provide consistent and high-quality service to our sites and frontline caregivers,” Chidester said.  

“Connecting our location-specific supply chain teams through a centralized location will improve efficiency, accuracy and forecasting.”  

Approximately 60,000 square feet of the CSC will be dedicated to pharmacy services. As the facility’s director of pharmacy, Jacob Fuchs looks forward to the negotiation opportunities the CSC presents.  

“Negotiating pharmaceuticals at a system level is something that, up to this point, St. Luke’s hasn’t been able to fully realize,” Fuchs said. “The opportunity for our team to negotiate and develop relationships directly with manufacturers will allow for scalability and lowered costs of care.”

Join the team! 

St. Luke’s is currently hiring for a variety of roles throughout the system. Come join our award-winning team! Find open positions here.