A health system in Maine is planning to construct a multimillion-dollar ASC focused on orthopedics but will also include other outpatient specialties, according to the Bangor Daily News.
Four things to know:
1. Central Maine Healthcare in Lewiston is seeking state approval for a $14.2 million ASC. The 20,000-square-foot facility would be located in Topsham.
2. If approved by the state, the health system hopes to have the ASC up and running by 2021. It would hire 16 individuals to staff the center where the health system's physicians could perform cases.
3. The ASC could be a "strong new revenue stream" for the health system, according to the report. Central Maine Healthcare furloughed around 10 percent of its 3,200 employees last month due to the pandemic.
4. Central Maine Healthcare's CEO Jeff Brickman told BDN that the health system's outpatient surgeries are projected to increase 11 percent in the next two years, and he expects the ASC to be profitable "within several years" without taking income away from the main hospital's surgical services.