Administrator to Know: Cindy Ladner of Shawnee Mission Surgery Center

Cindy Ladner, BSN, CAPA (Shawnee Mission Surgery Center, Shawnee Mission, Kan.). Ms. Ladner is the administrator at Shawnee Mission (Kan.) Surgery Center and Shawnee Mission Prairie Star Surgery Center in Lenexa, Kan. The Shawnee Mission location opened in Jan. 2002, and is a multi-specialty center that performs 7,000 cases annually including orthopedics, plastics, ophthalmology, ENT and general surgery. The Prairie Star location opened in Oct. 2008.

Ms. Ladner has served as administrator of Shawnee Mission for five years. Prior to entering the ambulatory surgery industry, she served as a nurse and nurse educator at a day surgery center before "falling into" her role as administrator, she says. Ms. Ladner has also served as a nurse in the PACU area and in various surgical services throughout the hospital setting.

One initiative Ms. Ladner is proud of is leading her center through Joint Commission accreditation. "When we made the decision to become Joint Commission-accredited, the whole staff became engaged in the process. They really stepped up to accomplish this goal," she says. "Our first survey went well, and the surveyor was appreciative of the care that went into operations at our center."

Ms. Ladner is proud of the quality care that her center provides and the great customer service her staff gives to each patient. "Everyone — the staff, physicians and board members — is engaged and wants the center to be successful," she says. This is accomplished by putting the patient first. "We all have the same goal of working together to achieve this level of care," she says.

According to Ms. Ladner, sharing this common goal has encouraged staff to stay at the center, and she notes that her center has nearly zero percent turnover. "The only staff that left went to open the new center," she says.

When it comes to serving as an administrator, Ms. Ladner says her favorite part of the job is that there is always something to learn, especially in a multi-specialty center. She says the building and opening of a new center was a rewarding learning experience. "I also like being accountable for the total operations of the center," she says.

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