There have been several ASC openings, and a few closures, over the past 12 months.
Here is why a few of those centers closed.
The Villages (Fla.) Regional Hospital closed an ASC on March 1 because it didn't attract enough specialists to operate as normal. The ASC, which opened in 2015, included ophthalmology, podiatry, dermatology, pain management and plastic surgery. It may reopen in the fall if circumstances change.
On March 1, Laser Spine Institute closed four ASCs in Tampa, Cincinnati, Scottsdale, Ariz., and St. Louis, after the company failed to secure enough financing to continue operations. The company, which launched its first center in 2005, displaced around 1,000 employees with the closures.
During the six months before the company shut down, Laser Spine Institute closed three other surgical centers in an attempt to reduce its operating costs, but was unable to develop a sustainable cost structure.
Houston-based U.S. Pain & Spine Hospital closed abruptly in May, and 63 employees were laid off. After the organization's CEO and CFO departed the hospital, it found accounting errors and omissions in hospital operations that impacted the bottom line.
Rockdale, Texas-based Little River Healthcare closed its facilities in December, including Temple (Texas) Surgery Center due to financial challenges.
On Oct. 19, Naples (Fla.) Day Surgery closed. Owners of the joint venture surgery center, owned by local physicians and NCH Healthcare System, cited low patient volume and competition from other ASCs in the closure. Opened in 1986, the ASC had five surgical suites and 64 employees.