Nashville, Tenn.-based AmSurg has been synonymous with surgery centers since Co-Founders David Manning and Rodney Lunn developed a business plan on the back of an iced tea napkin in 1986.
Here are 10 things to know about one of the nation's largest surgery center management companies.
1. AmSurg underwent a significant period of growth after between 1986 and 1992, consulting on the development of more than 75 centers across the country. In 1992, Tom Cigarran, president and CEO of Nashville, Tenn.-based American Healthcorp and Henry Herr, CFO of American Healthcorp, along with a group of equity investors helped form AmSurg. The company's mission shifted from consultation work to developing single-specialty equity partnerships.
2. In 1997, AmSurg became a publicly-traded company, while separating from American Healthcorp. The two companies split to aggressively grow AmSurg. After the split, AmSurg added 15 new centers, ending the year with 39 ASCs, in total.
What followed was an aggressive growth period; in 2002 AmSurg had 100 ASCs, and secured the largest ASC provider in the United States title.
3. In October 2007, AmSurg's current CEO Christopher Holden joined the company. Mr. Holden filled the president, CEO and director role. He brought a wealth of healthcare experience to the team and pivoted AmSurg's focus towards acquisitions. His first major acquisition came in August 2011 when AmSurg acquired Dallas-based National Surgical Care, adding 16 new centers to the AmSurg portfolio.
4. That major acquisition was the first of many, with AmSurg acquiring Sunrise, Fla.-based Sheridan Healthcare for $2.35 billion in 2014. The acquisition awarded AmSurg $70 billion in market assets including more than 4,600 physician relationships in 38 states. In June 2016, AmSurg made headlines when it merged with Envision Healthcare. The merger created a combined company worth $10 billion. After adding Sheridan, AmSurg Sheridan's physician services division expanded its services into anesthesiology, radiology and emergency medicine.
5. As of February 2017, AmSurg had more than 245 ASCs across the United States with more than 2,000 physician partners. A majority of the company's centers are in the Eastern United States. AmSurg centers are largely multispecialty.
6. AmSurg boasts a unique ownership model where it owns 51 percent of a center with physicians owning 49 percent. Although AmSurg is the center's majority owner, an operating board made up of physician owners and the company decides operations. Most ASC management companies prefer ownership percentages between 1 and 49 percent.
7. Head of Ambulatory Services Phillip A. Clendenin joined AmSurg in March 2009 as senior vice president of corporate services. He was promoted to his current position in November 2014.
8. As of November 2016, AmSurg's net revenues rose from $650.2 million in 2015 to $822.2 million in 2016. AmSurg's merger with Envision did dilute its net earnings, however. They dropped to $37.7 million, a 7 percent drop from 2015. Yet, its net earnings were up 22 percent in the third quarter to $64.9 million.
9. AmSurg is attempting to lead the ASC field in scope reprocessing. In October 2016, it introduced a program to all staff working with gastrointestinal endoscopes requiring them all to undergo training to ensure they're up to date with the latest methods and procedures.
10. In addition to its booming ASC business, AmSurg launched StopColonCancerNow, a movement to prevent colon cancer. As of February 2017, the consumer-facing movement has more than 7,800 likes on Facebook. The initiative's success caused AmSurg to launch more public awareness campaigns including HemHealing in 2011, YourSightMatters in 2012 and MoreThanHeartburn in 2013.