Administrator to Know: Tona Savoie of Bayou Region Surgical Center

Tona Savoie, RN (Bayou Region Surgical Center, Thibodaux, La.). Ms. Savoie is administrative director of Bayou Region Surgical Center, a multispecialty surgery center that opened in July 2007. The center has four operating rooms and one procedure room. Surgeons at Bayou Region specialize in orthopedics, ENT, neurology, general surgery, plastic surgery, GI, ophthalmology and pain management. The ASC operates as a 50-50 partnership between physician investors and a subsidiary of the local community hospital, Thibodaux Regional Medical Center. It is managed by ASD Management.

Ms. Savoie has been with Bayou Region since its start-up, participating in its development from construction to staffing to opening. Prior to becoming an administrator, Ms. Savoie worked as a circulator for three and a half years at a large hospital and one year as a circulator at an ASC, which converted to a hospital. She later became the OR coordinator at the same facility. "I obtained excellent experience at both facilities," she says. "I was then recruited for the project in our current center. This position has been extremely educational and rewarding."

Finding the right staff and maintaining morale among physicians and staff members have been essential to Bayou Regional's success, according to Ms. Savoie. One way to do this is to provide information on policies and regulations. "Both groups are extremely important to the functionality of a center for obvious reasons, but I have found that the more information that is distributed, the better the work output. People like to know what they are working for and many times are more willing to do so if they know why," she says.

Through education and bolstering morale, Ms. Savoie has come to enjoy the relationships among physicians, staff members and administration. "You have to love what you do and most times who you do it with," she says. "I love my staff and surgeons and could not facilitate any amount of success without everyone's participation. Success is never rooted from one person or one event and I feel our center is an exceptional example of teamwork at its best."

Ms. Savoie says that being an administrator has allowed her to develop her researching and critical thinking skills, which she enjoys. "I thrive on creating new processes which can help in any way — from physical actions to reports sent to surgeons. There is a great feeling of accomplishment when you create something that actually benefits people's lives."

The ability to directly impact the success of the center and produce change are other aspects of her position Ms. Savoie enjoys. "I love to work outside the realm of average thinking; this job gives me that opportunity on a daily basis," she says.

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