ASC growth is a component of St. Louis-based Ascension plans for growth amid a $3 billion operating loss in fiscal 2023.
Other hospitals and health systems are increasingly looking to ASCs for growth — forming partnerships and joint ventures for ASC development as procedures continue to migrate to outpatient settings.
Here are five things to know about Ascension's ASC strategy:
1. Ascension has added 21 ASCs over the last three years and aims to grow that number to more than 100 in the next few years, President Eduardo Conrado told Becker's in an interview.
2. The health system has "set capital aside for investing in the ambulatory front, and that includes ASCs, the pharmacy component, imaging, outpatient [physical therapy], mental health components," Mr. Conrado told Becker's. "So we ended up setting up multiple strategic business units that have grown over the last couple years."
3. Ascension has also looked to surgical hospital acquisitions, Mr. Conrado added, and seeing "new types of care" coming in from the health system's capital deployment.
4. Ascension saw a $3 billion operating loss in fiscal 2023 and has since taken action to sell a number of facilities across the country to recover, including more than six hospitals in 2024.
5. Last year, Ascension said it plans to invest more money into its ASCs amid its financial loss.