Midlands Hospital in Papillion, Neb., is in the midst of pivoting its focus away from being a full-service hospital, and it's doing so by embracing ASCs, Live Well Nebraska reports.
Here's what you should know:
1. The move mirrors what Omaha, Neb.-based CHI Health is doing to several of its hospitals. For Midlands, the transition started in January 2017, when the health system opened a $2.4 million ASC on its second floor.
2. After the opening of the surgical center, the hospital closed its intensive care unit, which was bogging down finances because of dwindling patient numbers.
3. Hospital President Kevin Miller said his staff came to the decision to shift focus after meeting with community leaders. Midlands currently maintains 28 inpatient beds and operates an emergency department. The hospital staffs a full-range of specialties but those specialists are not on call 24/7.
4. Mr. Miller said the move has been successful so far. For fiscal year 2018, the hospital has had 1,582 ambulatory cases and 1,524 inpatient and outpatient surgeries. Midlands has also had 12,079 ER visits and 29,664 outpatient diagnostic tests.
5. The driving differentiator in all of this has been the hospital's ASC. The center is the only ASC in Sarpy County. The center has 12 preoperative and postoperative recovery rooms, four operating rooms and one procedure room.
6. After seeing the success of Midlands, other area healthcare organizations have recently opened or are drafting plans to open ASCs or outpatient surgery centers.