From California to New York, major health systems across the country are making a splash in the ASC market.
A recent survey of health system executives by VMG Health found that 60% of leaders were considering pursuing outpatient surgery joint ventures in 2024 — the highest area of interest of any potential specialty partnerships.
In the last seven months, six large health systems have invested in expanding their ASC service lines. Here are 16 recent moves as more large healthcare entities take an interest in the ASC market:
Baptist Health (Jacksonville, Fla.)
1. Jacksonville Beach, Fla.-based Horizon Surgery Center opened in early February. The ASC is on Baptist Medical Center Beaches' campus and offers orthopedics, neurosurgery, plastic surgery and general surgery.
2. Baptist partnered with ASC management organization Compass Surgical Partners to launch a network of ASCs that will be branded as Horizon Surgery Center. The partners plan to open multiple facilities in Northeast Florida, both through the renovation of existing Baptist sites and the acquisition of new ASCs.
Intermountain Health (Salt Lake City)
1. The health system opened a medical campus with an ASC in Saratoga Springs, Utah, offering 24-hour emergency care, outpatient surgery, labs and imaging.
2. Intermountain Health and Billings-based Ortho Montana broke ground on the Gallatin Valley Surgery Center in Bozeman, Mont., a 45,000-square-foot surgery center focusing on orthopedic and sports medicine services.
3. Intermountain opened its Park City Surgery Center, a joint venture orthopedic-focused ASC in Park City, Utah, with The Orthopedic Partners, a physician group with four Utah locations.
Kaiser Permanente (Oakland, Calif.)
1. Kaiser Permanente is seeking approval to build a five-story medical office building in Sacramento, Calif. The health system intends to build a 312-bed hospital next to the outpatient building.
2. Kaiser Foundation Health Plan purchased a medical office building in Santa Clarita, Calif., for $67 million.
3. Kaiser acquired 507,237 square feet of medical office space in Washington, D.C., for $198 million, a building it had been leasing space in from prior owners Property Group Partners.
NYU Langone Health (New York City)
1. NYU Langone expanded its partnership with Atlantic Health System's Morristown (N.J.) Medical Center, allowing patients at the New Jersey facility to receive care from NYU heart specialists without having to travel between states.
2. NYU Langone expressed interest in a planned 90,000-square-foot medical office building at a mall in Garden City, N.Y. Two other New York-based systems, Northwell Health in New Hyde Park and Catholic Health in Rockville Centre, are also interested in the facility.
3. The health system intends to construct an ambulatory center in West Palm Beach, Fla., using a $75 million donation from the Julia Koch Family Foundation. The new tower will total 77,000 square feet and house internal medicine, orthopedics, cardiology, gastroenterology, pulmonary, rheumatology, neurology, gynecology, urology, endocrinology, oncology, physical therapy, rehabilitation, pain management and bariatric services. The facility, slated to open in 2026, is expected to see 150,000 patients annually.
4. NYU Langone Health opened a 260,000-square-foot ambulatory center in Garden City, N.Y., in a former Bloomingdale's and Sears building — the system's largest ambulatory care site on Long Island. The center is equipped with 260 patient rooms and will offer care across 32 clinical specialties.
Parkview Health (Fort Wayne, Ind.)
1. Parkview and Ortho NorthEast plan to build an orthopedic-focused ASC and medical office building in Warsaw, Ind. Construction on the facility is expected to be complete in July 2025. The health system petitioned the Warsaw Board of Zoning Appeals regarding the project, which is expected to employ 140 people and see 500 to 600 patients daily. It will be 14,750 square feet and cost $11 million.
2. In February, Parkview entered into a partnership with Surgery Partners to grow ASC joint ventures across the state while working with physicians to build and acquire ASCs outside of Parkview's core service area.
WellSpan Health (York, Pa.)
1. At the beginning of December, WellSpan expanded the scope of its Health & Surgery Center in Hanover, Pa., making it the first ASC affiliated with the health system to provide same-day total joint replacement for hips and knees.
2. In August, WellSpan announced plans to construct an ASC and medical office building in Pennsylvania's South Middleton Township that will provide cardiology, orthopedic and other outpatient services. The ASC and medical offices will provide cardiology and orthopedic services and other outpatient care.