New JollyPop Pacifier Awarded National Contract with NOVAPLUS

PEMBROKE, Mass., Jan. 23, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Sandbox Medical today announced that its new line of JollyPop® pacifiers are available through a partnership with NOVAPLUS, the private-label brand of Novation, the leading health care supply chain expertise, analytics and contracting company.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140123/CG51096)

The new NOVAPLUS contract for JollyPop pacifiers, effective Jan. 1, 2014 through Dec. 31, 2017, is the latest innovation from Sandbox Medical co-founder and partner Read McCarty, who previously developed the two most widely-used pacifiers in hospitals today: the Soothie^® and GumDrop^® pacifiers.  The company estimates that more than 80 million of the pacifiers combined have been sold since they were introduced.

With this pre-retail launch through NOVAPLUS, the more than 100,000 health care members that Novation serves, including members of Children's Hospital Association, are first to have access to a next generation of pacifier that is safer, more comfortable and lighter weight.

"Given our focus on pediatrics, working with Sandbox Medical was a logical step for NOVAPLUS, and we were pleased to be selected as the initial launch partner for products that build on Read's success over the past 20 years," said Brent Gee, Sr. Director, Strategic Programs, Novation. "We have a long track record of responding to the hospital members we serve with the latest products that enhance the quality of care at compelling price points. In addition, our agreement with Sandbox Medical is another example of our strategy to support small businesses and minority enterprises."

In addition to pacifiers, NOVAPLUS offers 120 products across 17 pediatric categories, including cost-effective innovations from nationally recognized companies.

The JollyPop pacifier, which is 100 percent silicone and made in the USA, meets the one-piece construction requirements of the American Academy of Pediatrics.  In recent product evaluations conducted by the company at 42 hospitals, the majority of participating nurses, mainly in the NICU, said they preferred the JollyPop pacifier over current products. 

"The NOVAPLUS program fits perfectly with the JollyPop business model," said Read McCarty, co-founder and partner, Sandbox Medical. "Rather than employ a sales force, we're promoting JollyPop through telemarketing and direct sampling, which allows us to pass along considerable savings to hospitals.  The marketing and sales support we receive by being a NOVAPLUS supplier will help us promote the JollyPop directly to hospital's purchasing and clinical staff.  This is a great opportunity for Sandbox Medical."

McCarty added: "Innovative pediatric products don't mean anything until they can be routinely used in hospitals to help babies.  Breaking into a market filled with large multi-national companies is extremely difficult. Just getting the attention of purchasing and clinical staff is enormously challenging.  Working with Novation and NOVAPLUS gives us visibility and an increased level of creditability that is hugely valuable for a small company like SandBox Medical. Most importantly it will help us achieve our goal of fulfilling the unmet medical needs of premature and sick newborns."

About NOVAPLUS
NOVAPLUS, Novation's private-label brand exclusively for members of VHA, UHC, Provista and Children's Hospital Association, delivers the best financial value and quality on the products and services that hospitals use most frequently. With more than 1,800 individual line items, the NOVAPLUS brand encompasses a broad range of products and services including anesthesia, diagnostic imaging, food, laboratory medical, orthopedics, pharmaceutical, respiratory and surgical.

About Novation, Winner of the Ethics Inside® Certification
Founded in 1998, Novation is the leading health care supply chain expertise, analytics and contracting company for the more than 100,000 members and affiliates of VHA Inc. and UHC, two national health care alliances, Children's Hospital Association, an alliance of the nation's leading pediatric facilities, and Provista, LLC. Novation provides alliance members with sourcing services, as well as information and data services. Based in Irving, Texas, Novation develops and manages competitive contracts with more than 600 suppliers. VHA, UHC, and Provista members used Novation contracts to purchase approximately $43 billion in 2012. Novation has earned the coveted Ethics Inside® Certification from Ethisphere Institute, a leading international think tank dedicated to the research and promotion of best practices in corporate ethics and compliance. Novation also was named on Ethisphere's World's Most Ethical Companies list, and is the only company in the health care industry to earn both distinctions for two consecutive years. To learn more about Novation, please visit www.novationco.com and follow @NovationNews.

About Sandbox Medical LLC
Founded in 2009 by Read McCarty and Eileen Gay, Sandbox Medical is dedicated to improving the lives of premature infants and their families.  Prior to Sandbox Medical, Read McCarty was the founder and CEO of Children's Medical Ventures (now owned by Philips Medical) and Hawaii Medical, which McCarty sold to Natus Medical in 2009.

Media Contacts

Read McCarty
Sandbox Medical
877-396-1551 ext 17
[email protected]

Michael Berman
Novation
972-581-5763
[email protected]

SOURCE Novation; Sandbox Medical LLC