Administrator to Know: Nancy Calhoun of Roanoke Ambulatory Surgery Center

Nancy Calhoun, RN, CNOR (Roanoke Ambulatory Surgery Center, Roanoke, Va.). Ms. Calhoun is the administrator at Roanoke (Va.) Ambulatory Surgery Center, a multi-specialty, physician-owned center. The center opened in Dec. 2003 and performs 350-400 cases per month. It is managed by Woodrum/ASD. The center has three operating rooms and one procedure room, and specializes in orthopedics, ENT, pain management and urology.

Ms. Calhoun has been with her center since it opened. Prior to coming to the ASC industry, she spent 21 years as a nurse hospital, serving in a variety of roles including OR nurse, head nurse of ENT and neurological surgery and clinical team leader of neurology, plastics and GYN. Ms. Calhoun then accepted a position as clinical team leader at an off-site ASCs.

One way in which Ms. Calhoun has helped improve efficiency at her center was adding a materials co-coordinator and maintenance co-coordinator to the staff. "I originally assumed responsibility of both roles as well as helping with staffing and juggling my administrative responsibilities," she says. "We are saving tons not having to call the hospital for all of the things that need to be fixed, and we have also implemented an inventory management system that allows us to order supplies and consignment items on line and to maintain a daily inventory."

Ms. Calhoun notes that because of the size of Roanoke, the staff is very close-knit and works in a "family atmosphere," which adds to the success of her center. "We are not lost in the politics and vastness of the hospital setting. We work together as a team, and I receive a lot of support," she says

The positive feedback Ms. Calhoun receives from patient survey cards and personal notes of thanks are her favorite aspects of her job as administrator. "We are compared to the hospital all of the time, and the patients are so grateful to have the positive experience here that they say they do not or have not had there," she says. "That is the greatest reward ever, when you feel you are appreciated by those that you care for. We never had that personal communication when at the hospital."

Ms. Calhoun also notes the appreciation her physicians have for the center. "They love it here and are like different people than what I experienced when working with them at the hospital," she says.

To see the list of all 50 Administrators to Know, click here.