Here are 12 prominent leaders of ASC companies to know:
1. Robert J. Carrera, CEO of Pinnacle III (Lakewood, Colo.). Mr. Carrera joined Pinnacle III in 2005 and has more than 25 years of experience in the healthcare industry. Mr. Carrera is responsible for company operations, including de novo development, client facility performance, as well as marketing and sales at Pinnacle III. Before joining the company, he spent 14 years at Birmingham, Ala.-based HealthSouth in various roles, including vice president of surgery center operations, regional vice president of operations and administrator. Mr. Carrera was one of the Colorado Ambulatory Surgery Center Association's founding members, and previously served as vice president. Out of the 25 years of healthcare experience he has, he spent 15 years in the ASC sector.
2. Rodney H. Lunn, founder & CEO of PhyBus (Brentwood, Tenn.). Mr. Lunn has over 40 years of experience in the fields of healthcare management and leadership. He founded ASC development and management company PhyBus in 2009. In addition to founding PhyBus, he founded Practice Development Associates in 1987, and co-founded Nashville, Tenn.-based AmSurg in 1991. Throughout Mr. Lunn's career at PhyBus, Practice Development Associates and AmSurg, he participated in the development of more than 150 ASCs across the U.S. Previously, Mr. Lunn served as the vice president of finance and CFO for American Medical Centers. He also was the CFO of INA Healthplan of Texas (now Cigna), as well as the COO and vice president of HealthAmerica of Florida.
3. Larry Taylor, CEO of Practice Partners in Healthcare (Birmingham, Ala.). Mr. Taylor has more than 25 years of experience in ASC development and management. Mr. Taylor founded Practice Partners in Healthcare in 2005. In addition to serving as CEO and president of Practice Partners in Healthcare, Mr. Taylor serves as a board member of Ambulatory Surgery Center Association. He also served as a board member of Birmingham -based American Sports Medicine Institute. Before joining Practice Partners in Healthcare, Mr. Taylor was the president of the ambulatory surgery division of the Birmingham-based HealthSouth Corporation. Prior to that, he served as the senior vice president of HealthSouth. Mr. Taylor is currently an adjunct professor of healthcare at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
4. Barry Tanner, CEO of Physicians Endoscopy (Jamison, Pa.). Mr. Tanner joined Physicians Endoscopy in 1999 and has over 25 years of experience as a leader in the healthcare industry. As Physicians Endoscopy's CEO, Mr. Tanner focuses on the growth and development of the company, as well as partnership development. He is also responsible for the day to day management of the company's partnered ASCs. Before joining Physicians Endoscopy, Mr. Tanner founded Miami-based Navix Radiology Systems, a physician practice management company. He served as the company's CFO for four years. In addition to founding Navix Radiology, Mr. Tanner was the COO of Miami-based HealthInfusion, a home-provider of intravenous therapy. Before starting his career in healthcare, he worked in the financial services industry. Physicians Endoscopy formed in July 1998 and specializes in managing and developing single specialty endoscopic ASCs in partnership with hospitals and physicians. Physicians Endoscopy is partnered with nearly 60 ASCs and 6,000 gastroenterologists. Mr. Tanner led Physicians Endoscopy through its acquisition by Kelso & Company in 2016.
5. Joseph Zasa and Robert Zasa, co-founders and managing partners of ASD Management (Dallas). ASD Management, a company focused on ASC management and development, was co-founded in 1986 by brothers Robert Zasa and Joseph Zasa. ASD Management operates 21 surgery centers in 14 states. Joseph Zasa and Robert Zasa serve as ASD Management's managing partners. Prior to founding ASD Management, Robert Zasa founded Premier Ambulatory Systems. Under his leadership, Premier Ambulatory Systems owned and operated 15 ASCs with $35 million in earnings. Joseph Zasa served as a corporate counsel for Premier Ambulatory Systems. At ASD Management, Joseph Zasa focuses on managing, structuring and developing the company's surgery centers, as well as the everyday operations of ASD Management. He authored "Developing and Managing Surgery Centers," a book focused on ASC management. In addition to his work at Premier Ambulatory Systems, Robert Zasa has experience operating a 552-bed hospital for Brookwood Medical Center Birmingham and served as COO of AMI Ambulatory Centers. Robert Zasa is an American College of Medical Practice Executives fellow. Joseph Zasa is a faculty member at the University of Alabama, Birmingham School of Health Sciences. He previously spent two terms as the Texas Ambulatory Surgery Center Association's president.
6. Lew Little, CEO of Covenant Surgical Partners (Nashville, Tenn.). Mr. Little has over 11 years of experience working in the healthcare industry. He joined Covenant Surgical Partners in 2016 as CEO. Before joining Covenant Surgical Partners, he served as Austin, Texas-based Harden Healthcare's CEO. Under Mr. Little's leadership, Harden grew from having six skilled nursing home locations to more than 200 in 13 states, generating over $800 million in annual revenue. After serving as Harden's CEO, Mr. Little served on the board of Austin, Texas-based HNI Healthcare, a privately-held physician practice management company. He also had a more than 15-year career working in banking, serving as president of Bank of America in Austin, Texas. Mr. Little also served as a board member for Nashville-based Results Physiotherapy, an outpatient physical therapy company and for Austin-based Corridor Title, a residential and commercial title company.
7. Luke Lambert, CEO of Ambulatory Surgery Centers of America (Hanover, Mass.). Mr. Lambert started his career at Ambulatory Surgical Centers of America in 1997 as CFO. He became CEO in 2002. He came to the ASCOA with a background in operation, finance and strategy. Previously, Mr. Lambert worked for Smith Barney (now Morgan Stanley Wealth Management), a retail brokerage firm doing international sell equity research. He also consulted with companies starting new ventures at New York City-based Booz, Allen & Hamilton, a technology consulting firm and London, England-based Ernst & Young, an accounting firm. Mr. Lambert earned the Certified Administrator Surgery Center designation in 2002.The CASC designation is awarded to individuals who have shown a comprehensive understanding of the skills and knowledge the role of ASC administrator demands. ASCOA operates more than 70 surgery centers in 17 states. ASCOA also develops new centers and helps existing ASCs with turnarounds.
8. Stacey Berner, MD, CEO and principal of SurgCenter Development (Pismo Beach, Calif.). Dr. Berner joined SurgCenter Development in March of 2012 as a principal and served as president before becoming CEO in January 2016. He has over two decades of experience working in the healthcare industry. SurgCenter Development was established in 2002 and has over 2,220 physician partners. Dr. Berner also serves as a managing partner of the company. Before joining SurgCenter Development, Dr. Berner was a hand and upper extremity specialist at Baltimore-based Advanced Center for Orthopaedic Surgery and Sports Medicine. He joined the practice in 1994. Dr. Berner earned his medical degree from the Boston-based Tufts University School of Medicine. He completed his orthopedic surgery residency at Richmond-based Medical College of Virginia. He completed a fellowship in hand and microsurgery at the New York City-based Hospital for Special Surgery.
9. William Wilcox, CEO and president of United Surgical Partners International (Addison, Texas). Mr. Wilcox joined United Surgical Partners International in 1998 and served in president and director roles before becoming CEO in 2004. Mr. Wilcox is a member of the executive committee of USPI's board. Prior to joining USPI, he was United Dental Care's CEO, president of HCA's surgery group as well as president and CEO of HCA's ambulatory surgery division. Mr. Wilcox saw USPI through major transitions such its merger with Tenet in 2015. The joining of the two companies created the largest provider of ambulatory surgery in the U.S. at the time.
10. Christopher Holden, president and CEO of Envision Healthcare (Nashville, Tenn.). Mr. Holden has more than 25 years of experience working in the healthcare industry. He was appointed as Envision Healthcare's president and CEO in 2016 after previously serving as Nashville-based AmSurg's director and president from 2007 to 2016. Before joining AmSurg, he was Plano, Texas-based Triad Hospitals' senior vice president and division president. For five years, Mr. Holden held several officer positions with Nashville-based Columbia/HCA Healthcare Corp. Ernst & Young named Mr. Holden its "Entrepreneur of the Year for Healthcare" in 2016. KKR announced plans to acquire AmSurg and Envision Healthcare in June for $9.9 billion.
11. Chris Bishop, CEO of Regent Surgical Health (Westchester, Ill.). Mr. Bishop was named CEO of Regent Surgical Health in 2016 after previously serving as president. His responsibilities include developing and implementing Regent's marketing strategies and overseeing the rollout of new outpatient service lines. Regent currently has 23 ASC affiliations, including 17 joint ventures with hospitals across the U.S. and Europe, and 14 of Regent's centers include outpatient total joint replacement. Before joining Regent. Mr. Bishop worked as a partner and senior vice president of Nashville, Tenn.-based Blue Chip Surgery Center Partners. Mr. Bishop has worked with physicians and healthcare leaders for over 20 years. In his previous role at Blue Chip Surgery Center Partners, he helped turnaround underperforming surgery centers. Before working for Blue Chip Surgery Center Partners, Mr. Bishop served as ASCA's vice president of acquisitions and business development. Prior to that role, he helped create strategic alliances with Health South Corp. He also worked for Smith & Nephew in developing sales and devices strategies. Mr. Bishop graduated from Murfreesboro, Tenn.-based Middle Tennessee State University, and lives in Nashville with his family.