Curt K. Collins is the COO at Palmetto Surgery Center in Columbia, S.C.
Mr. Collins will serve on the panel “How to Make ASCs Less Vulnerable to Corporate Forces” at Becker’s ASC Annual Meeting. As part of an ongoing series, Becker’s is talking to healthcare leaders who plan to speak at the conference on Oct. 27-29 in Chicago.
To learn more and register, click here.
Question: What is the smartest thing you've done in the last year to set your organization up for success?
Curt Collins: One of the smartest things that we did was invest in our nurses. Without nurses our facility would not be able to perform 500-plus cases a month, so we made a significant mid-year adjustment to our pay bands for them, created a longevity incentive for all staff and ensured that our physicians and dentists have the last patient in the PACU by 3:15 p.m. so that our staff can enjoy a better quality of life.
Q: What are you most excited about right now and what makes you nervous?
CC: I am excited to see that our trailing twelve month volumes have increased to approximately 516 cases per month and we are on target to perform 6,200 cases this year. One of the things that makes me particularly nervous is the continuing supply chain shortages and delays. We have had to go outside of our normal channels to get clinical supplies in order to keep pace with our volumes.
Q: How are you thinking about growth over the next 12 months?
CC: We would like to continue to be innovative and participate in studies related to new ENT procedures as well as grow this line of business. We would like to be known as the destination where ENT surgeons want to come to.
Q: What will healthcare executives and leaders need to be effective leaders for the next five years?
CC: If a leader is not out on the floor or with their staff in their respective areas they are missing out on building a rapport with their team. Showing your team you are not below any task is vital. As executives it is easy to focus on the finances and other aspects of this business, but getting up from the desk and cleaning a stretcher and helping when the clinical team is very busy is leadership by example. Our chief nursing officer is out on the floor every single clinical day and is the epitome of a leader and we both see value in being visible.
Q: What is your strategy for recruiting and retaining great teams?
CC: Right now, we are having a good amount of success now that we made the mid-year pay adjustment. It helped our organization out when the board of directors supported our decision to make the changes to compensation.