Guest speakers include Kathleen Sebelius, former U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services, and Derreck Kayongo, co-founder of the Global Soap Project

RICHMOND, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Owens & Minor, Inc. (NYSE-OMI) will host the 10^th Annual Healthcare Supplier Diversity Symposium on September 22-23, 2015, in Richmond, Virginia. With the theme "Activate," this year's symposium will provide attendees with tools to leverage connections, network with experts, and develop sustainable strategies for business growth. Attracting leaders from women-, minority-, and veteran-owned businesses, as well as healthcare industry professionals, the symposium will feature panel discussions, workshops and networking.

The keynote speaker for the 10^th annual event is former United States Secretary of Health and Human ServicesKathleen Sebelius, a noted expert on healthcare policy, healthcare reform and human service delivery. While serving in President Barack Obama's Cabinet as Secretary of HHS, she oversaw the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Food and Drug Administration, and the Office of the Surgeon General. As Secretary, Sebelius led the President's charge for passage of the Affordable Care Act. Before joining the Obama administration, Sebelius served as Governor of Kansas. Sebelius will speak at the event luncheon on Wednesday, September 23, 2015.

"With this year's Healthcare Supplier Diversity Symposium, we are celebrating a decade of coming together to advance diversity in the healthcare supply chain," said P. Cody Phipps, president & chief executive officer of Owens & Minor. "At Owens & Minor, we know that by improving diversity in the healthcare supply chain, we strengthen our industry, the communities we serve, and the economic value we create."

This year's symposium will begin with a reception and dinner on Tuesday, September 22, 2015, featuring remarks from special guest Derreck Kayongo, co-founder of the Global Soap Project. Now a U.S. citizen and an activist for marginalized and vulnerable people around the world, Kayongo and his family fled fighting and tyranny in Uganda in 1979. Kayongo has worked with the American Friends Service Committee and has been a director for the Southeast region for Amnesty International. Along with his wife, Kayongo founded the Global Soap Project in 2009. The innovative project takes donated, melted, purified and reprocessed hotel soap and redistributes it to vulnerable populations around the globe. Today, Global Soap covers 32 countries and has donated more than two million bars of soap to refugees and people affected by humanitarian disasters.

At the opening night dinner on Tuesday, Owens & Minor will also present the Earl G. Reubel Award, named for the founder of Virginia-based Kerma Medical Products, a noted minority-owned healthcare company. Owens & Minor established this award to honor the late Earl G. Reubel, whose vision of building a legacy for his family through Kerma Medical Products, Inc. showed the true spirit of his entrepreneurial nature. The Earl G. Reubel Award honors recipients from the healthcare industry who embody the qualities that made Earl G. Reubel such a force in the healthcare industry.

Joining Owens & Minor as sponsors of this annual event are the Carolinas-Virginia Minority Supplier Development Council (CVMSDC), the Healthcare Supplier Diversity Alliance (HSDA), and the National Association of Health Services Executives (NAHSE). This year's event will be held at the Hilton Richmond Hotel & Spa/Short Pump located in Richmond, Virginia. Proceeds from this year's inaugural golf tournament will be donated to the Global Soap Project. For more information about the Symposium, please visit www.hsdsymposium.com.

Owens & Minor, Inc. (NYSE: OMI) is a leading healthcare logistics company dedicated to Connecting the World of Medical Products to the Point of Care^TM by providing vital supply chain services to healthcare providers and manufacturers of healthcare products. Owens & Minor provides logistics services across the spectrum of medical products from disposable medical supplies to devices and implants. With logistics platforms strategically located in the United States and Europe, Owens & Minor serves markets where three quarters of global healthcare spending occurs. Owens & Minor's customers span the healthcare market from independent hospitals to large integrated healthcare networks, as well as group purchasing organizations, healthcare products manufacturers, and the federal government. A FORTUNE 500 company, Owens & Minor is headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, and has annualized revenues exceeding $9 billion. For more information about Owens & Minor, visit the company website at www.owens-minor.com.

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Owens & Minor
Truitt Allcott, Director, Investor & Media Relations,
804-723-7555; truitt.allcott@owens-minor.com

Source: Owens & Minor, Inc.

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