Administrator to Know: Joey Daugherty of Total Pain Care

Joey Daugherty, RN (Total Pain Care, Meridian, Miss.). Mr. Daugherty is the administrator of Total Pain Care, a single-specialty ASC that focuses on pain management procedures. The center is owned by Kenneth Staggs Jr., MD, and Eric Pearson, MD, and is managed by Practice Partners in Healthcare. The center houses three procedure rooms and currently performs 5,500 cases annually. Mr. Daugherty has been at Total Pain Care since it opened in 2006 but has worked in healthcare since 1992, starting as a registered nurse in the emergency room at Rush Foundation Hospital in Meridian, Miss. and transferring to the Pain Treatment Center at Rush before becoming a department manager and then moving to Total Pain Care.

Creating flexible staffing models that enabled the center to use more part-time employees has helped Mr. Daugherty control costs at Total Pain Care. "In doing this we developed a plan where part-time and as-needed staff could earn some paid time off hours. This has allowed us to staff the ASC primarily with part-time staff, therefore reducing cost while retaining experienced staff members," he says.

Finding a great management company has also helped Mr. Daugherty run a successful center. "Coming from a hospital setting in an area with only one other ASC in town, my knowledge of development and management of this type of facility was limited. Our management company played a major role in our success. I was given such a wonderful opportunity to work with and learn from [the team at Practice Partners] that have such an extensive background and knowledge of ASCs," he says.

Strong physician ownership and dedicated staff members are what Mr. Daugherty enjoys most about his job. The expertise of the clinic's two owners and staff (some of whom have been with the physicians since they started their practice in 1995) allows the center to provide excellent pain management to patients in the area, Mr. Daugherty says.

"Our facility also houses the private practice of our physicians. I serve as administrator of the practice and ASC," he says. "I enjoy being able to help patients through the continuum of their pain care and provide the most cost-effective and most convenient, high-quality care available."

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