More and more procedures can now be performed on an outpatient basis, making it easier for ambulatory surgery centers to grow and add specialties. Adding a new specialty or service line is also a popular tactic for growing patient volume and diversifying an ASC's business. Here are 16 ASCs that have added or will soon add new specialties and procedures.
If you would like to suggest an addition for this list, contact Anuja Vaidya at avaidya@beckershealthcare.com.
Brookside Surgery Center (Battle Creek, Mich.). The surgery center recently incorporated Blue Belt Technologies' Navio orthopedic surgical system for partial knee replacements, which features an advanced CT-free intra-operative registration, planning and navigation platform.
"Potential benefits to the patient are numerous," said Joseph Burkhardt, DO, orthopedic surgeon and physician partner, according to a Becker's ASC Review report. "By making partial knee replacements a more accessible option through enabling very precise and predictable results, the patient has available a surgical procedure that is generally associated with smaller incisions, less scaring, a shorter hospital stay or an outpatient procedure in some cases, and quicker recovery when compared with the total knee replacement alternative."
The Meridian Surgical Partners- affiliated facility was established in 1997. It encompasses 11,540 square feet and includes three operating rooms and two procedure rooms. It offers surgical services in a number of specialties, including gastroenterology, gynecology, ophthalmology, ENT and pain management.
Beverly Hills Surgery Center (Los Angeles). The ASC was the site of the first single-site robotic hysterectomy in Los Angeles. Additionally, the center was the first to perform minimally invasive robotic surgery using the da Vinci Si Surgical System and one of the only outpatient centers in the United States specializing in minimally invasive surgery using robotic technology.
The ASC is a miVIP center. miVIP includes 60 surgeons and single-site robotic hysterectomy was performed by David Ghozland, MD, and Marc Winter, MD. The ASC also offers bariatric surgery services.
The Center for Minimally Invasive Surgery (Mokena, Ill.). This ASC recently adopted Microline Surgical's MiFusion ENTceps for tonsillectomy, which is designed to preserve healthy tissue and result in less post-operative pain for patients. CMIS boasts 55 surgeons, a 0 percent infection rate and a nurse to patient ratio of one-to-two. Areas of expertise at the center include spine, orthopedics, pain management, gynecology and podiatry as well as a focus on treating workplace injuries.
Citrus Surgery Center (Lecanto, Fla.). The Surgical Care Affiliates-owned surgery center added spine surgery in April. They added the specialty due to the community’s need for the option to have spine procedures done in an ASC, as opposed to a traditional hospital setting. Also, the recent addition of spine codes to the Medicare payment changes for 2015 promoted the addition of the specialty because the community has a high Medicare population.
However, there were some challenges when incorporating spine cases into the ASC. "Starting up a new discipline from ground zero [involves] procuring equipment, instrumentation, implants and medications to meet surgeon's preferences and educating our team new processes." says Lisa Howell, RN, director of nursing at the center.
Coastal Orthopedics with The Surgery Center of Pointe West (Bradenton, Fla.). The ASC has added minimally invasive spine decompression cases, which include microdiscectomies.
The 40,000-square-foot encompassing the surgery center also offers patients physical therapy, X-ray, MRI and bracing services as well as a pharmacy. It is accredited by the Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care and licensed by the state of Florida. Physicians from Coastal Orthopedics offer the full-spectrum of orthopedic and sports medicine services, including treatments for arthritis, fractures, hip disorders and meniscal tears.
Coral Gables Surgery Center (Miami). Coral Gables Surgery Center, affiliated with Meridian Surgical Partners, recently implemented and is growing its new spine program. The center now has three highly-experienced spine surgeons performing Level 1 spine procedures and expects to exceed initial volume estimates in 2015. Level 1 cases include: kyphoplasty, radiofrequency ablation, pain blocks, discectomy, vertebroplasty. The center also performs laminectomies (levels one and two), cervical fusions and lumbar fusion (levels one and two).
The 9,000-square-foot center has 25 licensed physicians. In addition to spine, the surgery center offers general surgery, gynecology, oncology, ophthalmology, orthopedics, pain management plastics, podiatry and urology services.
Elite Surgical Center (Fremont, Calif.). This center offers a number of services, including cardiology, orthopedic surgery, podiatry and weight loss. The center now also offers endoscopic primary obesity surgery endolumenal and the endoscopic sleeve gastroplasty. The POSE procedure allows surgeons to enter the GI tract orally and reduce the stomach size. The ESG procedure also allows endoscopic oral access to the GI tract, but surgeons suture a portion of the stomach.
Laguna Niguel (Calif.) Surgery Center. The ASC recently added a number of new service lines — ophthalmology in September; urology in December; ENT in January; and pediatrics in February. These specialties were added to provide for physicians in the center's new partnership with Surgical Care Affiliates, Long Beach, Calif.-based MemorialCare Health System and Monarch HealthCare in Irvine, Calif.
According to Lisa Engel, RN, administrator of the center, the biggest challenge when starting the ophthalmology service line in particular was that it was a brand new service line for the entire team.
"We needed to purchase equipment and supplies to prepare for seven new doctors. The team needed to learn and have an understanding of what was needed, why it was needed and how it all worked. We needed to be prepared for the scheduled cases but we also needed to be prepared for the unexpected events as well," says Ms. Engel.
The surgery center took on new, experienced teammates when adding these specialties and utilized the help of sister SCA-centers.
The surgery center was founded in 2008 and it also provides surgical services in a number of other specialties, such as general surgery, gynecology and pain management.
Hawthorn Surgery Center (Vernon Hills, Ill.). The surgery center added urology services in April. "It was important for us to expand the services that we can offer to our community," says Julie Bell, RN, CASC, administrator of the center. "Many of these procedures were being performed in the local hospital, but now we can offer a high-quality, low-cost alternative for patients."
According to Ms. Bell, the surgery center was fortunate in having staff members who were familiar with the specialty. They played a huge role in ordering supplies and equipment, creating preference cards and educating the team.
The surgery center opened in 1980 and is one of the first freestanding outpatient surgery centers in Illinois. It includes three operating rooms and one procedure room. It offers surgical services in a number of specialties, including orthopedics, ENT, gynecology and dentistry. The center is affiliated with Surgical Care Affiliates.
Marlton (N.J.) Hand Surgery and Rehabilitation Center. This center recently introduced endoscopic carpal tunnel releases to its offerings. The center includes five physicians who are all board-certified and fellowship-trained and who all have received the Certificate of Added Qualifications in Surgery of the Hand by the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery. In addition to the center in Marlton, Hand Surgery and Rehabilitation Center includes locations in Woodbury and Delran, N.J.
Minnesota Valley Surgery Center (Burnsville). The surgery center has incorporated the MAKOplasty procedure, a robot-assisted surgery procedure. The center, affiliated with Nueterra, was established in September 2006. The 7,500-square-foot facility includes four operating rooms and one procedure room. It is certified by CMS and accredited by the Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care. The ASC offers surgical services in numerous specialties, such as orthopedics, ophthalmology, podiatry and spine.
New River Valley Surgery Center (Christiansburg, Va.). This freestanding ASC, which has 16 physician owners, recently introduced spine cases to address compression fractures via kyphoplasty. Physician specialties at New River Valley Surgical Center also include gynecology, ophthalmology, urology, podiatry, ENT and general surgery.
North American Spine (Dallas). The spine center now offers the CuraSpine and SecuraSpine procedures along with the AccuraScope procedure. AccuraScope and CuraSpine procedures are minimally invasive decompressions designed to alleviate pressure on spinal nerves. SecuraSpine provides stabilization through small incision for patients with spinal instability.
North American Spine has a number of locations around the United States, including Minneapolis, Phoenix, Houston, Dallas and Hackensack, N.J. Its centers focus on providing pain relief treatments. North American Spine was recently acquired by Nobilis Health.
Surgical Center For Excellence (Panama City, Fla.). The surgery center recently added perripheral vascular procedures, such as angioplasties, stenting and/or atherectomies of various regions, including iliac vascular, femoral/popliteal and tibial/peroneal.
Established in 2004, the ASC includes two operating rooms, a procedure room and separate preoperative and postoperative areas. It is licensed by the state of Florida and is accredited by AAAHC. Specialties at the center include orthopedics, plastic surgery, podiatry, gynecology and oral surgery.
Surgery Center at Southeastern Health Park (Lumberton, N.C.). This 13,000-sqaure-foot ASC is a joint venture between local physicians and SeHealth. The center includes two endoscopy suites and a procedure room where physicians can perform roughly 6,000 surgeries each year. Recently, the center introduced spine decompression cases via conventional radio frequency technology.
Texas Health Surgery Center Craig Ranch (McKinney). The surgery center added pediatric ophthalmology procedures in December 2014. According to Tim Szott, administrator of the center, the addition of the specialty was a smooth process. "Very minimal learning curve was experienced due to the fact that we had a surgical tech on our team who had prior experience with eyes. This surgical tech was a significant asset in facilitating this new service line at Craig Ranch," he says.
The ASC is a joint venture between Surgical Care Affiliates, Texas Health Resources and physician partners. It also offers care in a wide-array of other specialties, such as ENT, urology, podiatry, orthopedics and general surgery.
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