Joyce K. (Deno) Thomas, senior vice president operations for Regent Surgical Health, says some ASCs will neglect the upkeep of their facility because they do not appreciate the potential damage it can cause to customer relations. She describes what ASCs need to do to avoid making this same mistake.
Joyce Thomas: It is critical to maintain your facility in good repair. I have seen many facilities where, for example, the cost of painting would have been $3,000 and the ASC didn't really want to spend $3,000. Patients come in and are looking at it with a different eye. The patient customer go back to their physician — who may not be a partner — and say that while they received great care at the ASC, it's really kind of dirty, there are holes in the walls or the floors weren't polished. Now your non-partner utilizer knows about that and he will take his cases somewhere else.
Keep the facility in good repair so your customers will appreciate the good care and acknowledge it's a great facility. Make sure to set aside money for upkeep. Simulate the patient experience at your ASC: Regularly sit in the lobby in a patient chair just for a minute and listen, look, and see what your ASC looks like from a patient's perspective. Is it cold out there when doors open? Are the chairs beat up? Is the paint chipped? Are there magazines from 10 months ago? Then go back and sit at the nurse's station in pre-op and PACU. Are the curtains dirty? Are the walls beat up? Are the ceiling tiles stained? If you had had a water leak, change out the tiles because that's what the patient is looking at as they lay on their bed.
Learn more about Regent Surgical Health.
Read more insight from Joyce Thomas:
- Critical ASC Mistake: Physician-Owners Using the ASC as a Bank
- Critical ASC Mistake: Physician-Owners Forgetting to Prioritize the ASC
- Best Quality Care: Hospital or Ambulatory Surgery Center?