Administrator to Know: Bill Hazen of Surgery Center at Pelham

Bill Hazen (Surgery Center at Pelham, Greer, S.C.). Mr. Hazen is the administrator of the Surgery Center at Pelham, a four-OR, two-procedure-room, multispecialty center that is a joint venture between a hospital and local physicians. Surgeons at the center specialize in ENT, orthopedics, general surgery, gynecology, adult and pediatric urology, pain management, GI, plastic surgery, ophthalmology and podiatry. Mr. Hazen helped open the center in Dec. 2004 and has been on board since the inception, design and construction phases of the project.

Prior to coming to the Surgery Center at Pelham, Mr. Hazen was director of special projects at Spartanburg (S.C.) Regional Medical Center. He also opened and developed the Hyperbaric Medicine and Wound Center at the hospital and spent some time as a neuro-trauma ICU nurse.

Mr. Hazen has implemented many successful programs and policies at the Surgery Center. The center has a profit-sharing program for all employees. "We set five goals to be reached, profit-sharing is paid quarterly, and all employees receive equal pieces of the pie," he says. Other initiatives have included involving employees in all decisions and live-case costing. He says, "We track to the penny from exactly how many 2x2s used during surgery to the D/C IV in post op."

Of the many rewarding aspects of his job, Mr. Hazen says he appreciates being part of a team the most. "Everyone goes out of their way to help each other and the patients," he says. He also finds teaching and mentoring the employees in their careers a fulfilling part of his role as administrator, he says.

Mr. Hazen notes that the Surgery Center at Pelham's next big project will be installing an electronic medical record system, and he sees continued growth for his center.

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