ASCs in rural areas may find it difficult to facilitate growth, but one ASC in Illinois is still finding opportunities.
Melinda Cain, RN, BSN, CASC, is the administrator of Mt. Vernon, Ill.-based Good Samaritan Surgery Center. She spoke to Becker's ASC Review on how her center is focusing on growth despite the hurdles of a smaller population.
Question: What is the biggest challenge your center is currently facing, and how are you addressing that issue?
Melinda Cain: We are located in a rural community of 16,000 with limited surgeons — many of which are hospital employed; therefore, growth can be difficult. Currently, we are looking into growth within our current specialties and by adding vascular specialty.
By doing this, we are branching into more critical procedures requiring additional training, monitoring and equipment.
Q: What are you most proud of in your time as administrator?
MC: My administrator career has been very educational. I, along with a great staff/management team, developed and successfully have run a de-novo multispecialty surgery center since 2012.
We maintain Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care accreditation, fiscal viability and profitability through the COVID-19 pandemic. We were also selected as one of the best ASCs in 2021 by Newsweek.