The ambulatory surgery center industry is well into its mature years. The business may have begun with independent centers, but there are now a number of veteran companies competing in the field. Amongst the key players is Regent Surgical Health. Here are 15 things to know about the company as it approaches its 15th anniversary.
1. Thomas Mallon, MBA, and W. Michael Karnes, MBA, originally conceived Regent Surgical Health in 2001. Both are graduates of Harvard Business School in Boston. Mr. Mallon is now at the helm of the company as CEO.
2. Mr. Karnes leads the company as a partner. In this role, he advises a number of the company's centers and helps all centers implement their three to five year growth plans, including the process of introducing total joint replacement.
3. Jeffrey Simmons has largely served as chief development officer of Regent and a major shareholder throughout almost its entire history. Mr. Simmons came to Regent a seasoned healthcare executive; he now has more than 25 years of experience in the industry.
4. Nap Gary, JD, is the COO of Regent. He earned his law degree from Washington University School of Law in St. Louis and completed his undergraduate degree at Duke University in Durham, N.C. He joined the company nearly a decade ago. He is also a major shareholder of the company. Mr. Gary is a past president and current board of directors member of the Ambulatory Surgery Center Association.
5. Matt Lau, MBA, is the company's CFO. He has more than 20 years of finance and accounting background. He completed his MBA at the DePaul University Kellstadt Graduate School of Business in Chicago. In his role as CFO, Mr. Lau oversees the finances all of Regent's centers and joint ventures.
6. Mr. Lau just recently assumed the CFO position. Mr. Karnes held the CFO position since the company's start, but mentored Mr. Lau and prepared him to take on the role.
7. Regent evolved from a start-up developer of ASCs, to a company focused on turning around centers and finally to a company that focuses today as much on joint ventures with hospitals as any other model. Sixteen of the company's 21 centers are joint ventures with hospitals.
8. Since its inception, Regent has developed 18 de novo centers.
9. Regent is based in Westchester, Ill., but the company's operations span from Alaska to Europe. Regent has 19 facilities in 10 states in the United States, as well as two facilities in Dublin, Ireland. Regent also has regional offices in California, Florida, Nevada, Tennessee and Virginia.
10. Outside of his work with Regent, Mr. Mallon is involved in several international charities, including Affordable Medicines for Africa and Vanavevhu. The AFMA provides purchasing and manufacturing consulting to African manufacturers to supply hospitals with inexpensive drugs. Vanavevhu focuses on creating resources for children of parents who have died from AIDs in Zimbabwe.
11. Regent is a private company. Since its founding, the company itself has managed to operate virtually debt free.
12. Outside of the C-suite, the company is led by core management team of industry superstars. Paul Eiseman and Don Phalen are vice presidents of business development. Regent also has strong administrators, such as David Moody who leads Knightsbridge Surgery Center in Columbus, Ohio.
13. Regent's management team includes operations leadership, as well. Tim Bogardus and Joyce (Deno) Thomas serve as senior vice presidents of operations. Anne Roberts is vice president of operations. Kathleen Bernicky, RN, and Aimee Mingus are the directors of clinical operations, while Vivek Taparia and Christine Henry Musa are directors of operations. James Lynch, MD, oversees spine as the company's director of spine services.
14. On the financial side, Regent's team includes Michael Orseno as its revenue cycle director and Andrea Woodell as its director of managed care. Preeti Syal joined the company last year as a senior financial analyst. Regent Revenue Cycle Management was recently launched and now serves 14 clients, six of which are not managed by the company. Ed Tschan was hired last year as director of business development for RCM. The Andrews Institute ASC in Pensacola, Fla., just selected Regent to manage its revenue cycle functions.
15. As Regent approaches its 15th anniversary, the company plans to continue growing through new joint venture relationships and physician recruitment. "We're proud of the team we've assembled at Regent, and of having earned the trust of physicians and hospitals across the country. We're looking forward to continued growth and success in the years ahead," says Mr. Gary.