Valify Named Finalist in D CEO’s 2026 Excellence in Healthcare Awards

FRISCO, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct 27, 2026--

Valify, the leading purchased services technology platform for healthcare, has been named a finalist for Achievement in Innovation in D CEO ’s 2026 Excellence in Healthcare Awards. This year's finalists were selected from a competitive pool of over 200 nominations across the North Texas healthcare community.

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The recognition follows a period of significant growth and product innovation for Valify, as the company expanded its platform with AI capabilities to help hospitals and health systems more quickly identify, prioritize and act on savings opportunities across purchased services.

Purchased services remain one of the most overlooked opportunities for cost optimization in healthcare. Valify combines comprehensive spend data, benchmarking, sourcing expertise and execution support to help hospitals and health systems identify and capture 10-30% savings on average across under-managed categories.

“We’re honored to be recognized by D CEO alongside so many healthcare leaders across North Texas,” said Les Popiolek, CEO of Valify. “Health systems are under significant pressure to reduce costs, but purchased services remain an often-overlooked source of savings. We continue to enhance our technology to help health systems uncover opportunities and translate them into tangible outcomes.”

As the only healthcare purchased services company that collects data from members of every major group purchasing organization (GPO), the company provides a broader view of the market to uncover pricing variability, strengthen benchmarking, and give health systems greater confidence in savings decisions. Valify's platform is powered by more than $1.3 trillion in spend data, normalized across a proprietary schema of over 1,400 categories.

Over the past year, Valify has expanded its platform with new capabilities, making it easier for health systems to transform complex purchased services data into actionable opportunities. These include Valify-defined Insights, Indicators, and Indexes to help organizations identify and prioritize high-impact savings opportunities. Initiatives provides tools to manage those opportunities through execution, and Valify AI Chat, launched earlier this year, gives teams a new way to explore and act on complex spend data using conversational, context-aware AI.

D CEO ’s Excellence in Healthcare Awards recognize the top healthcare executives, practitioners, organizations and innovators making an impact in North Texas. The 2026 winners will be announced at an event in Dallas hosted by D CEO on Dec. 10.

For more information on how healthcare providers can benefit from Valify as their complete purchased services partner, please visit www.getvalify.com.

About Valify

Valify helps healthcare organizations optimize purchased services and indirect spend through a combination of technology, advisory expertise, and supplier partnerships. Our technology platform provides enterprise-wide spend visibility, benchmarking, market intelligence, and sourcing insights that help organizations identify opportunities and make informed decisions. Complementing these capabilities, Valify Advisory Services delivers strategic consulting and hands-on support to accelerate savings, improve performance, and drive sustainable results. Organizations also gain access to the Valify Preferred Supplier Network (PSN), offering no-cost membership, hundreds of pre-negotiated supplier agreements, competitive pricing, and flexible contract options across a broad range of categories. Together, Valify's integrated approach helps healthcare organizations reduce costs, improve efficiency, and maximize value. Learn more at www.getvalify.com.

Finalists for Excellence in Healthcare Awards 2026

A man convicted of murder who escaped from a Tennessee prison and stole a truck from a nearby farm remained free on Tuesday, authorities said.

Jacob Morley, who was serving a life sentence for killing a co-worker four years ago, was found to be missing from the Northwest Correctional Complex late on Sunday.

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation released surveillance video from the farm, which is near Tiptonville and about a 2-mile (3-kilometer) walk through fields from the prison, showing Morley open the truck's unlocked driver's side door and drive off at around 1 a.m. Monday.

Firefighters in Hornbeak, about 12 miles (19 kilometers) east of the farm, said on social media that investigators confirmed their cameras captured footage of the truck driving by their station about 15 minutes later.

Authorities said Morley, 28, slipped through a fence in his prison clothes, but they haven't released additional details, including whether they think anyone helped him.

Morley is white, 5 feet 11 inches (1.8 meters) tall and weighs 240 pounds (109 kilograms). He has brown hair and green eyes.

Morley is serving a life sentence for killing co-worker Cody Birchfield in 2022. Birchfield’s body was found in a box under Morley’s home after he had been missing for a few weeks. The two lived in Carter County, in eastern Tennessee.

Along with first-degree murder, Morley was convicted of aggravated burglary, tampering with evidence, vandalism and evading arrest. When Morley saw deputies at his home, he led officers on a chase that ended in North Carolina, authorities said.

Prison officials have offered a reward of up to $2,500 for Morley's arrest. They said law enforcement agencies have searched buildings and other structures near the prison, which is about 90 miles (145 kilometers) north of Memphis in flat farmland near a bend in the Mississippi River.

Several violent attacks between inmates and by employees have been reported in recent years at Northwest Correctional Complex. A grand jury in July returned dozens of indictments for five inmate killings and other violent acts.

Northwest Correctional Complex can house 1,776 men and can house minors who have been convicted as adults, according to the Department of Correction.

This booking photo released by the Tennessee Department of Corrections on July 24, 2025, shows Jacob Morley. (Tennessee Department of Corrections via AP)