Issue link: https://beckershealthcare.uberflip.com/i/1388297
36 ASC Who's behind the recent opposition to proposed ASCs? By Patsy Newitt T hree recent ASC proposals have received opposition from community groups and other healthcare organi- zations for reasons varying from traffic to excess services at other facilities. Here are three ASC proposals receiving op- position and the groups behind it: 1. Rockford-based OrthoIllinois' proposed ASC failed to pass during the Illinois Health Facilities and Services Review Board meeting May 4, Health News Illinois reported May 5. According to documents on the board's web- site, the project received over 20 letters of op- position ranging from state representatives to healthcare providers. Reasons for opposition included criticism that the ASC will result in "excess capacity" at nearby facilities and that the for-profit ASC would "divert nearly two- thirds of their patients from local community hospitals while providing little to no Medic- aid services." 2. A coalition of healthcare providers, com- munity groups and business groups was created to oppose Boston-based Mass Gen- eral Brigham's $400 million ASC expansion across Massachusetts, MetroWest Daily News reported April 28. e group, dubbed Coalition to Protect Community Care, says the three planned ASCs will increase healthcare costs and threaten the availability of existing services. e group's website says that the services of- fered at the proposed facilities are "already offered by lower-cost, high-quality commu- nity providers in these regions." 3. Olathe (Kan.) Health has submitted to the city council plans to develop a two-story medical office building with an ASC, accord- ing to Kansas City Business Journal. Nearly 1,200 area residents signed an online petition opposing the development of the campus, citing concerns about traffic and home values, according to the report. n A $125M expansion: Comprehensive Surgical Care's 20 planned ASCs By Patsy Newitt P hysician-owned Comprehensive Surgical Care and its real estate partner have committed more than $125 million for a 20-ASC expansion nationwide. Gilbert, Ariz.-based Comprehensive Surgical Care announced the opening of its flagship facility April 27. Construction of the remaining ASCs is slated for the next two years. Comprehensive Surgical Care's planned ASCs will range in size from two to five operating rooms, with a multispecialty focus on vascular, cardiology, orthopedics, plastics, spine and pain medicine. Here are the four ASCs currently under construction, accord- ing to the company's director of marketing, Reisha Zang: 1. A multispecialty ASC with three operating rooms in Yuma, Ariz., is slated to open Aug. 1. 2. A multispecialty ASC with two operating rooms in Flag- staff, Ariz., is slated to open first quarter 2022. 3. A multispecialty ASC with two operating rooms in Mur- ray, Utah, is slated to open first quarter 2022. 4. Construction is slated to begin Aug. 1 for a multispecial- ty ASC with five operating rooms in Albuquerque, N.M. Future sites for the other 15 ASCs include Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico, California, Oklahoma, Texas, Florida, Utah, Tennessee, Louisiana and Idaho, according to Ms. Zang. n Allina Health moving spine, orthopedic surgeries from HOPDs to new network of ASCs By Alan Condon M inneapolis-based Allina Health is moving higher-acuity procedures such as spine and orthopedic cases from hospital outpatient departments to newly developed outpatient surgery centers, according to the Star Tribune. The 11-hospital system currently is developing an ASC in Brooklyn Park, Minn., in partnership with Surgi- cal Care Affiliates, and is beginning work on two other surgery centers this year. "Any same-day procedure, most notably orthopedic and spine, we've been working to really create [an] opportunity for them to move off-campus," Lisa Shan- non, chief operating officer at Allina, told the Tribune. Like most health systems, Allina has seen demand for healthcare services increase in late 2020, which has continued into 2021 — but Ric Magnuson, Allina's chief financial officer, said he doesn't think "we'll ever be back to 'normal,'" according to the report. Two major changes he highlighted were the shift to virtual care and moving many surgical procedures to the outpatient setting, which has become a focal point of Allina's strategy. Over the next five years, Allina plans to open or ac- quire about 12 ASCs as part of its joint venture with Surgical Care Affiliates. n