Becker's Spine Review

52 ASC USPI, SCA and Surgery Partners growth plans: 15 notes By Laura Dyrda T hree of the largest ASC chains in the U.S. have added physicians and centers to their network and have ambitious growth plans. Here's the latest from United Surgical Part- ners international, Surgical Care Affiliates and Surgery Partners. United Surgical Partners International 1. USPI has 317 ASCs and 24 surgical hos- pitals in its portfolio. e company plans to spend $150 million to $200 million on ASC acquisitions this year, and has announced several deals with physician groups. 2. Net operating revenue for the second quar- ter was up 80.4 percent over the same period in 2020, driven by increased case volumes and the company's December 2020 acquisition of 45 ASCs from SurgCenter Development. Same-fa- cility ASC volume jumped 89.2 percent. 3. e company has added more than 1,100 physicians to its network this year. 4. Total joint replacements performed at USPI centers grew 120 percent during the first half of the year compared to 2020. Spine procedure volumes at USPI centers climbed 21 percent. 5. As of Sept. 14, USPI was hiring 18 admin- istrators for its surgery centers across the U.S. Surgical Care Affiliates 1. SCA has more than 250 surgical facilities in its portfolio. 2. e company has 8,500 physicians in its network who care for about 1 million patients per year. 3. e company acquired Global 1, a bundled payment convener, early this year and also launched a website for the SCA Physician De- velopment Institute this year as an education- al platform for musculoskeletal physicians and allied health professionals. 4. SCA has appointed several executives to roles since the beginning of August, including: • Oren Shill as group president of the West Coast operating division • Jennifer Schaab as the first group vice presi- dent of enterprise strategy • Lisa Sinsel as vice president of clinical quality • Ezra Erb as vice president of clinical quality and clinical growth for its Midwest operat- ing division • Abbey Watkins as vice president of clinical quality for its Southeast operating division 5. SCA is part of OptumHealth, which re- ported $13.3 billion in quarterly revenue, a 46 percent year-over-year jump. e company served 99 million patients during the first half of this year and aims to add 10,000 physicians to its network in 2021. Surgery Partners 1. Surgery Partners has 123 surgical facilities in its portfolio. 2. e company released its second-quarter financial report Aug. 4, showing a 45 percent revenue increase year over year to $543.3 mil- lion. Net loss was $26.9 million. 3. During the second quarter, total joint re- placement volume grew 144 percent at Sur- gery Partners facilities, and one-third of those cases were for Medicare beneficiaries. 4. Meadowbrook Endoscopy Center in Long Island, N.Y., joined the Surgery Partners net- work in August. e 20-physician group's ASC has four operating rooms. 5. Surgery Partners aims to execute more than $400 million in transactions this year. n State rescinds Illinois hospital's ASC permit granted in 2017 By Patsy Newitt A n Illinois review board has rescinded Advocate Sherman Hospital's permit to build a $12.7 million ASC that originally was approved in 2017, the Chicago Tribune reported Oct. 25. Elgin, Ill.-based Advocate Sherman's application for an ASC with three operating rooms and 16 recovery rooms was approved almost five years ago. At the time, the ASC was a joint venture with Deerfield, Ill.-based Surgical Care Affiliates and local physicians. The permit was renewed in March 2019, and hospital officials sought a renewal in 2021 to update the ASC to two operating rooms. Since the original approval, Advocate Sherman bought out Surgical Care Affiliates; the hospital attributes the ASC delay to the SCA buyout, a series of hospital mergers and the COVID-19 pandemic. "I think this permit needs to be relinquished, and there needs to be a new applica- tion," board member Gary Kaatz said, according to the publication. He said Advo- cate Sherman hasn't shown due diligence and that the permit is outdated. Advocate Sherman also must find new supporters. Some physicians have with- drawn their support for the center, and Rockford-based OrthoIllinois has an applica- tion to build its own ASC. The hospital plans to submit another application for a permit, according to the Chicago Tribune. n

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