Issue link: https://beckershealthcare.uberflip.com/i/1338409
26 JOINT VENTURES Ohio provider opens surgery center By Eric Oliver V an Wert (Ohio) Health opened a surgery center, Building Indiana Business reported Jan. 19. The two-story center, part of a large inpatient expansion, totals 94,000 square feet. There's a surgical robot, two operating rooms and a space for endoscopies. According to local CBS affiliate wane.com, the cen- ter took two and a half years to build. The facility replaced Van Wert Health's original hospital, which will be turned into medical office space. n Pain physicians struggle to rebuild after closures By Laura Dyrda A Wisconsin-based pain management practice and surgery center chain that shut down last year left physicians on their own to rebuild their practices, according to a Jan. 21 Fox 6 report. Advanced Pain Management temporarily halted pro- cedures during the pandemic and then paid $1 million to resolve a federal lawsuit related to alleged kickbacks and unnecessary lab tests. The company that provides services to Advanced Pain Management filed a petition for Chapter 128 receivership, a bankruptcy alternative, in September. Despite the challenges, physicians still saw tens of thousands of patients at the Advanced Pain Man- agement clinics in 2020, according to the report. Six of the chain's locations closed in March and four more closed between Sept. 22 and Oct. 31. Some of the physicians have come together to form three new practices to see patients. All of the Advanced Pain Management ASCs remain closed. Physicians and patients report trouble accessing medical records from Advanced Pain Manage- ment, although the court-appointed receiver for the company said patients can retrieve medical records through a form on the APM website. n Optum reports revenue of $35.9B in Q4, $136.3B in 2020 — 6 insights By Eric Oliver O ptum, a UnitedHealthcare affiliate, reported fourth- quarter and 2020 revenue of $35.9 billion and $136.3 billion, respectively, the company announced Jan. 20. What you should know: 1. Optum grew its quarterly and full year revenue from $29.8 billion and $113 billion, respectively, in 2019. 2. OptumHealth served 98 million patients in 2020, up from 96 million in 2019. 3. Revenue-per-consumer increased 29 percent year over year. 4. UnitedHealthcare laid out its expectations for Optum in 2021, including expanding its ASC line and entering into more value-based care arrangements. 5. Optum posted $3.1 billion in earnings from operations in the fourth quarter of 2020. 6. UnitedHealthcare's quarterly and full year revenues were $65.5 billion and $257.1 billion, respectively. The company ended the year with net earnings of $15.4 billion. n 3-way joint venture ASC opens in Virginia By Carly Behm P hysicians Endoscopy, Mary Washington Healthcare in Fredericksburg, Va., and physicians from Gastroen- terology Associates of Fredericksburg opened a joint venture center, according to a Jan. 19 news release. Fredericksburg Endoscopy Center has 9,000 square feet and four procedure rooms, the release said. It's expected to serve 14,000 patients annually. The center has six physicians, and practicing physicians at Gastroenterology Associates of Fred- ericksburg will do procedures there, too. "A strategic partnership with these six physicians and Mary Washington Healthcare was carefully executed to ensure the overall goal of providing quality patient care at the ASC level," Nicole Romero, MSN, RN, vice president of operations at Physicians Endoscopy, said in the release. "Through an estab- lished trust in the partnership, all three parties bring specific value to the relationship, which has been the driving force and success of opening the Fredericksburg Endoscopy Center." n