Becker's ASC Review asked three ASC leaders to share what they offer to influence physicians and staff to join their facility over others.
Here's what they said:
Note: Responses have been lightly edited for style and clarity.
Judy Harless, administrator of Oregon Surgical Institute (Beaverton): Culture is everything. Physicians come to us as referrals from our partners and often because they feel a lack of customer service where they currently perform surgery. Our design, our staff, our patient-centered customer service are tailored to meet the needs of patients and surgeons. We are a new facility that offers oversized operating rooms, new equipment/instrumentation, hand-selected staff and strives to provide an excellent environment for our employees. We have been fortunate to have a number of our staff seeking employment at our center due to dissatisfaction with their [prior] work environment. Again, culture is everything. Staff want to work in a supportive, respectful, collaborative climate. We take employee engagement and satisfaction very seriously and [see it] as an area of continuous improvement. Their success and happiness is the key to our surgeon and patient satisfaction.
Michael J. Patterson, president & CEO of Mississippi Valley Health (Davenport, Iowa): Recruitment and retention is key for the longevity of any ASC. We have been fortunate to recruit physicians with mindsets that focus on high-quality, cost-effective care, and the ASC is a significant component of that goal. We offer partnerships to those physicians that find value in the ASC and demonstrate superior clinical outcomes. Recruiting and retaining staff is a key priority as well. We have found the trend of sign-on bonuses and other short-term recruitment incentives are not nearly as effective as fostering a culture of collaboration, treating each other with respect and listening to ideas and opportunities for improvements. Rather, we provide for retention bonuses for those staff that stay and remain loyal to an organization that values their input, and provide "excellence in care and service" (which is our mission statement).
Frank J. Chapman, COO of Ohio Gastroenterology Group and Central Ohio Endoscopy Center (Columbus): We are tightly held by a single medical practice. However, we anticipate as we move toward value, our units will become the facility of choice for many payers. At that time, we may open our doors to external providers to take advantage of patients being driven to our units.
To participate in future Q&As, contact Angie Stewart at astewart@beckershealthcare.com.
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