VHA Inc., a network of nonprofit hospitals based in Irving, will combine with a Chicago-based alliance of academic medical centers to become the largest member-owned health care supply chain company in the country. VHA's merger with UHC will serve about 5,200 hospitals, or 30 percent of all hospitals nationwide, including nearly all the academic medical centers and health systems, said Curt Nonomaque, president and CEO of the new company. VHA offers contracting services, analytics, consulting and purchasing services to hospitals, and UHC offers similar services to academic medical centers and affiliated hospitals.
