The ASC industry is growing and will become an even more essential element of the healthcare ecosystem as value-based care takes hold.
This article features five people who have been ASC leaders for decades and have pushed relentlessly on behalf of the industry. Becker's ASC Review will feature key ASC industry leaders weekly. If you would like to recommend a leader for this series, contact Laura Dyrda at ldyrda@beckershealthcare.com.
Individuals on this list are featured in alphabetical order.
Brett Brodnax is president and CEO of United Surgical Partners International, a Dallas-based ASC chain within Tenet Healthcare. Mr. Brodnax has more than 30 years of leadership experience. He joined USPI in 1999 and served as senior vice president, executive vice president, chief development officer and president before becoming CEO in 2018. He helmed the company through significant growth since then, including the acquisition of more than 100 SurgCenter Development ASCs in the last few years. Mr. Brodnax plans to retire at the end of 2023.
I. Naya Kehayes has been in healthcare for more than 25 years, focused on ASCs, surgical hospitals and practices. She founded Eveia Health, which specializes in ASC operations, managed care contract negotiations and business analysis, and served as its CEO until the company was acquired by ECG Management Consultants. She now heads ECG's ambulatory surgery practice, advising ASC and hospital leaders on the shift to outpatient care. Ms. Kehayes has worked with clients on site-of-service analysis, reimbursement, payment systems and introducing cardiology to ASCs.
Bill Prentice is the CEO of the Ambulatory Surgery Center Association, an organization focused on advancing ASCs. The association advocates on behalf of ASC owners and operators on Capitol Hill and has successfully influenced policy in favor of surgery centers. Mr. Prentice has been CEO of the ASCA since 2010 and is instrumental in providing the details of policy changes to surgery centers in addition to his work with legislators.
Nader Samii is the CEO of National Medical Billing Services, a company focused on ASC revenue cycle management. Mr. Samii has overseen the company's significant growth in the last few years, focusing on its strategic direction, lean processes and insightful analytics. In January, the company acquired mdStrategies, a medical coding company focused on ASCs. Before joining National Medical, Mr. Samii was president of healthcare revenue cycle outsourcing company Ajuba International.
Caitlin Zulla joined Surgical Care Affiliates in 2015 and served as chief administrative officer and CFO before becoming CEO in December of 2019. Since then she has led the company's growth by adding hundreds of physicians to its network, advanced value-based care and signed strategic partnerships with health systems. She has a passion for women's leadership in healthcare and developing team resource groups to promote diversity within the organization. Ms. Zulla is the former vice president of operations of MedAssets, a healthcare revenue cycle services company, and former senior consultant for CBIZ.