Becker's ASC Review

9 ASC MANAGEMENT Chicago baseball star undergoes surgery at ASC By Patsy Newitt C hicago White Sox left fielder Eloy Jimenez underwent sur- gery April 26 at the Rush Oak Brook (Ill.) Surgery Center, accord- ing to the Daily Herald. The successful procedure repaired a torn hamstring tendon behind his right knee. Mr Jimenez injured him- self April 23 in Minnesota while run- ning to first base. He is expected to be sidelined for six to eight weeks. Injured White Sox starting pitcher Lance Lynn had a similar surgery April 4, according to the Herald. n 22-year-old Hawaii ASC in danger of closing By Laura Dyrda H ilo (Hawaii) Community Surgery Center, is in dan- ger of closing due to low volume, its owners told the Hawaii Tribune-Herald. The 22-year-old surgery center needs around 100 cases per month to break even, and Peter Matsuura, MD, an orthopedic surgeon and owner of the ASC, said monthly caseload is some- times much lower. "There's a limit as to how long we can sustain the loss, obviously," he told the Tribune-Herald, noting that case volume fluctuates greatly month to month. He partially blamed the local hospital, Hilo Medical Center, saying it discouraged surgeons from taking cases to the ASC. Elena Cabatu, a spokesperson for the hospital, denied that the hospital stops surgeons from performing procedures at the ASC, but she did say the hospital is building its surgi- cal capabilities and has hired more surgeons in the last few years. Carol Kekauoha, administrator of Hilo Community Surgery Center, said the pandemic and independent physician retirements have also contributed to lower case volume at the ASC. Alice Chin, the surgery center's clinical director, said the hospital is employing new surgeons coming to the commu- nity, so there are fewer independent surgeons to use the center. n Are ASC bonuses, staffing fixes 'too little, too late'? By Laura Dyrda M any surgery centers saw high staff turnover during the pandemic and are now focused on recruiting and retaining talent to stay operational. Some ASCs were forced to lay off employees when surgeries were canceled. Other staffers quit to take care of family members or le healthcare altogether. e "Great Resigna- tion" that followed in the last year saw even more people leave healthcare for higher paying roles as Walmart, Amazon and Target and other employers increased minimum wages and offered large bonuses. Now, hospitals and surgery centers are using the same tactics to draw workers back. Will it work? "Perhaps [staff] burnout was unavoidable due to nationwide supply shortages, an influx of patients and other factors, but if staff felt truly cared for and appreciated over the last two years, I don't believe we would be seeing droves of employees leaving the healthcare field," said Amy Noble, practice administrator of Center for Pain Control and Wyomissing (Pa.) Surgical Services. "Now, in 2022, they want to offer huge bonuses, and you see a shi in prioritizing the health and well-being of employees. Too little, too late." e job market is tightening with shrinking unemployment, and the number of open po- sitions continues to grow. Inflation has also pushed up wages in many industries and has employees asking for raises or leaving their jobs for higher paying roles. Surgery centers, tied to insurance contracts negotiated before high inflation kicked in, may not be able to keep with rising labor costs. Some ASCs have started offering $5,000 sign-on bonuses for administrators, while others hope their flexible scheduling and culture will draw administrative and nursing candidates more than big money. Craig Gold, administrator of Virginia Center for Eye Surgery in Virginia Beach, said his center lost quite a few employees when the local hospital started offering $15,000 sign-on bonuses, but he also met some nurses who had burned out while working at the hospital throughout the pandemic and were looking for a change. "ey saw us as an opportunity" to achieve more work-life balance, he said. "So there was a big shi in the environments of care that [staff were] looking for," he said. Mr. Gold said he thinks the labor pool will stabilize in the next year. Phillips Kirk Labor, MD, president of Lon- eStar Ambulatory Surgery Center in Grape- vine, Texas, said his center is cross-training employees more to provide continuity of care when turnover happens. "Our top priority is to retain the staff we cur- rently have by demonstrating our apprecia- tion for our employees and by continuing to foster a positive work environment," he said. Debra Fin, administrator of Great Lakes Bay Surgery & Endoscopy in Midland, Mich., is also working on developing a great culture at her surgery center with a changing team. "We have been spending a great deal of time sourcing and onboarding new staff, and that now requires us to take a step back and help patient care areas integrate new team members and build relationships and trust," she said. "Getting the new staff to feel welcomed and part of the team is just as important as supporting existing staff to address change in their team members and the loss of those relationships." n

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