Administrator to Know: Melody Mena of Spivey Station Surgery Center

Melody Mena (Spivey Station Surgery Center, Jonesboro, Ga.). Ms. Mena is the administrator of Spivey Station Surgery Center in Jonesboro, Ga., and the managing director of surgical services for Southern Regional Health System, based in Riverdale, Ga. The center originally was opened 1998 by Georgia Baptist Health System. In 2000, the center became a joint venture between Southern Regional Health System and its physicians. The center has recently celebrated its first year in a new state-of-the-art facility. The multi-specialty center specializes in GI, general surgery, urology, ENT, gynecological surgery, orthopedics, podiatry and pain management.

Ms. Mena has been the administrator at Spivey Station since 2005.  Prior to coming to the surgery center, she owned co-owned a company that offered first assistant services to physicians and another company that provided services related to turning around healthcare companies in distress. Ms. Mena has a clinical background in perioperative nursing.

One approach that Ms. Mena says has been valuable to her success as an administrator is to write four-year strategic plans for her businesses, including the surgery center. "We are in a major growth phase at this point in our strategic plan." she says. "In a time when most surgery centers are down in volume due to the recession, we are seeing a significant increase in our business. The most important factor at this point is staying ahead of the curve and adjusting our business plan to accommodate changing times with healthcare reform."

Ms. Mena says the favorite component of her ASC is the staff and physicians who "believe in being the best and make it happen everyday." She also enjoys being an administrator because she is "able to implement a vision that raises the bar of the future of healthcare."

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