Earlier this year, physicians in Florida filled a hole in the healthcare landscape. Brandon, Fla.-based Select Physicians Alliance along with Compass Surgical Partners saw an opportunity to provide Tampa residents ENT services in the ambulatory setting and opened Select Physicians Surgery Center.
As the ASC's administrator, Laura Smith has seen the center grow from the ground up, with the surgery center performing its first case in January. The center currently has 14 physician owners, and is in the process of adding more investors. The ASC is equipped with three operating rooms, which Ms. Smith remarks are "larger than any other hospital's outpatient ORs we've visited."
Well-seasoned in the ASC industry, Ms. Smith joined Select Physicians Surgery Center after working at another surgery center in Pinellas Park. Her years of administrative experience have taught her a center's success is intertwined with its staff members. While experience is a valuable skill, a center may be better off hiring individuals with personalities that coincide with the ASC's values and mission.
"The core team I originally hired had an ENT background, but as we are going along, I have added team members that haven't had that ENT-specific experience," Ms. Smith says. "When you are looking for someone that will fit with your center, there are so many people with personalities that make them teachable. It is better to get someone like that than someone who has more experience but bad habits."
Patients take note of the center's staff, which leads to the ASC's high patient satisfaction scores. Since the center opened, Ms. Smith's notes she has not received a negative patient satisfaction score, even with the center giving a survey to each patient. When obtaining care at your center, a patient's experience encompasses much more than the surgical procedure and centers therefore should ensure the entire patient experience exceeds patients' expectations.
"If one staff member is struggling, we are all struggling," Ms. Smith says. "Patients see how well everyone works together."
At Select Physicians Surgery Center, the staff members work to make sure patients have a personal experience. The staff members sit down with the patients before procedures and guide the patients through their procedure and recovery process. After the patient leaves the center, the ASC sends thank-you cards to each patient.
"Everybody grabs a stack of cards and signs them," Ms. Smith says. "We have received more responses from patients due to our thank-you card rather than just calling them. With us growing, I don't know how long we can keep that up, but while we can, we are going to. We are going to do it because everyone absolutely loves it."
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