(Archived) Praxair Healthcare Services Awarded QHR Contract

DANBURY, Conn., August 1, 2003 — Praxair Healthcare Services has entered into a multi-year service agreement with QHR (Quorum Health Resources) to make bulk and cylinder Medipure® medical gases available to their member hospitals.

"Of all the companies that we considered, Praxair Healthcare Services demonstrated both value and the greatest ability to administer the program," stated Brian Hitchcock, vice president of QHR’s Material Resource Group. "Praxair already provides Medipure gases and services to a large number of our member hospitals so we were very confident their ability to meet our other hospitals' needs."

In addition to oxygen USP (United States Pharmacopoeia) and nitrogen NF (National Formulary), the Medipure brand includes carbon dioxide, helium, air and nitrous oxide (all USP grade). Also included in the agreement are specialty gas mixtures that are manufactured and tested to meet stringent specifications. Standard with Medipure medical gases is Praxair's Tracker™, a computerized remote monitoring system that automatically informs Praxair’s logistics center whenever liquid product supplies need replenishing.

QHR hospital members will have access to Praxair's breadth of healthcare services including the Praxair On-Site Coordinator Program which assists the facility’s patients to smoothly  transition their ongoing home respiratory care needs from Hospital to Home, the Grab 'n Go® portable medical oxygen system, environmental monitoring, certification testing, medical gas evaluation, hood certification, oxygen shutdown services, turnkey gas delivery installations, MRI products and a host of homecare services.

"QHR has a very significant position within the healthcare industry and we are very proud to have been awarded this agreement," said Chuck Tortorello, director of strategic accounts, Praxair Healthcare Services.

QHR integrates group purchasing into the array of services it provides to hospitals, including management advisory services, consulting, education and training programs, and related services. The company builds Strategic Service Partner relationships with vendors such as Praxair Healthcare Services, to meet the hospital's needs for specialized healthcare-related products and services at competitive prices. QHR serves over 200 hospital clients in 43 states. More information is available about QHR at www.qhr.com.

Praxair is the largest industrial gases company in North and South America, and one of the largest worldwide, with 2002 sales of $5.1 billion. The company produces, sells and distributes atmospheric and process gases, and high-performance surface coatings. Praxair products, services and technologies bring productivity and environmental benefits to a wide variety of industries, including aerospace, chemicals, food and beverage, electronics, energy, healthcare, manufacturing, metals and others. More information on Praxair is available on the Internet at www.praxair.com.