Here are 10 ambulatory surgery center leaders during facility expansions. If you have questions or updates for this list, please contact Laura at lmiller@beckershealthcare.com.
Traci Albers (High Pointe Surgery Center, Lake Elmo, Minn.). Ms. Albers presided over an expansion at High Pointe Surgery Center that included a larger staff lounge and locker rooms, planned with feedback from employees. The ASC includes orthopedics, ophthalmology, pain management, gynecology, urology and plastic and reconstructive surgery. Ms. Albers has more than 15 years of experience in ASC and healthcare management, and has experience adding new specialties and improving patient satisfaction scores at the ASC, which is affiliated with Surgical Management Professionals.
Teva Eiler (UPMC Hamot Surgery Center, Hamot, Pa.). Ms. Eiler is the administrative director at UPMC Hamot Surgery Center, which she joined as the center's purchasing manager and human resources coordinator in 2006. She has been administrative director since 2009 and previously worked at Vantage Healthcare Network as the director of materials management. Originally established in 2001, UPMC Hamot Surgery Center recently completed a $5 million expansion project which added additional operating rooms, recovery beds, a GI endoscopy center and additional parking. The freestanding outpatient surgery center offers 11 different specialties, including orthopedics, pain management, ENT, ophthalmology, gastroenterology, urology and podiatry. After the expansion, the surgery center has become one of the largest freestanding ASCs in Pennsylvania.
Karen Karns (The Outpatient Surgery Center at The Toledo Clinic). Acting Outpatient Surgery Clinical Director at The Toledo Clinic Karen Karns was outpatient surgery clinical manager during its expansion last year. The project included a 7,800-square-foot addition and 12,000-square-foot renovation. The surgery center grew from six to 10 surgery/procedure suites and expanded its pre- and postoperative areas. The patient waiting area was also partially remodeled and the expansion allowed the surgery center to add 19 full-time positions. Surgeons perform more than 11,000 outpatient procedures at the center each year. The surgery center was also recognized by the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy as part of its program dedicated to promoting quality in endoscopy.
Joe Majerus (Lakewalk Surgery Center in Duluth, Minn.). Lakewalk Surgery Center worked with DSGW to design a 14,000-square-foot expansion with a training center, heated parking and more preparations and procedure rooms. The ratio of surgery to recover space was reconfigured and two operating rooms were added to increase surgery space by 50 percent. Another 12 private rooms were added and patient flow was reviewed to allow the surgery center to jump from 6,000 to 9,000 surgeries per year. He takes patient feedback seriously and is proud to reference Lakewalk's 97 percent approval rating, a number that has not wavered over the past several years. Prior to becoming administrator for Lakewalk, Mr. Majerus served as CFO for a hospital in Minnesota.
Dr. Anthony Pachelli (New Mexico Orthopaedic Surgery Center, Albuquerque). Dr. Pachelli was the medical director during a recent expansion of New Mexico Orthopaedic Surgery Center, which now includes eight operating rooms and two treatment rooms. Physicians at the center perform orthopedic surgery, pain management and podiatry. The center's current administrator is Marcia Hall. The surgery center's partners include 20 physicians and its corporate partner, United Surgical Partners International.
Linda Phillips, RN (Southgate Surgery Center in Southgate, Mich.). Ms. Phillips has served as administrator of Southgate Surgery Center in Michigan since 1999, when she was promoted to the position from OR supervisor. During her tenure as administrator, she expanded the ASC from a one-room, single-specialty center to a four-room, multispecialty ASC and increased the number of surgeons on staff from one to 20. She's proud to say that she recently added a GI doctor and an ocuplastic surgeon to the surgical staff. She is also very proud of the addition of the surgery center's humanitarian programs, Neighbors in Need and Colon Cancer Awareness, which offer GI and ophthalmic procedures to patients that are uninsured and experience financial hardship.
Carol S. Slagle, CASC (Specialty Surgery Center of CNY in Liverpool, N.Y.). Ms. Slagle has been the administrator of Specialty Surgery Center of CNY, which is managed by ASCOA, since its inception in 1999. She says the experience of setting up Specialty Surgery Center was incredible. "It was an honor and privilege to have the opportunity to be hired and oversee the build-out and initial set-up of all operations of our surgery center," she says. While the surgery center started out with five physicians and 11 employees with a specialization in ophthalmology, the ASC has since become a multispecialty center and currently has 31 credentialed surgeons and 54 employees. "We underwent a major expansion and total renovation of the ASC in 2009 and successfully orchestrated this project while open for business," Ms. Slagle says. Ms. Slagle was in the first group to take the CASC credential test and was awarded the CASC credential shortly thereafter. The surgery center performed 8,965 cases in 2011.
Lee Stubbs (Gardendale Surgical Center, Gardendale, Ala.). Originally opened in February 2010, Gardendale Surgical Center announced had plans to double its capacity by October 2011. The center, owned by Gardendale Surgical Associates, added two operating rooms and a procedure room to its existing facility. Surgeons perform colonoscopies, endoscopies, pain blocks, cataracts and orthopedic procedures at the surgery center, among other cases. The facility accredited by the Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care.
Denise Wible (Shoreline Surgery Center at Porter Health, Valparaiso, Ind.). Ms. Wible is the director at Shoreline Surgery Center at Porter Health. The ASC underwent an expansion completed in April 2012 after a $2.5 million renovation and expansion project. The surgery center grew from two to four operating rooms and is now 220-square-feet larger with new equipment. The surgery center is on the Portage Hospital Campus and surgeons perform general surgery, orthopedics, pain management, gynecology, ophthalmology and urology procedures. The surgery center is accredited by the Joint Commission Accreditation of Hospital Organization.
Bryan Wright (Florida Hospital East – Surgery Center in Orlando, Fla.). Mr. Wright has worked for Florida Hospital East – Surgery Center joined the team at Florida Hospital East — Surgery Center upon the center's inception as its administrator. Prior to his role with Florida Hospital East – Surgery Center, Mr. Wright worked for Richard L. Scott Investments, managing acquisitions, joint ventures and development of urgent care facilities. Mr. Wright says his center has broken several Florida Hospital records in recent years, achieving 100 percent on-time case starts in March 2012, 12.04 room turnover times (in minutes, excluding flip rooms) in February 2012 and 81 percent block time utilization. The multispecialty center currently began with two operating rooms and two endoscopy procedure rooms and expanded to include two more operating rooms.
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