Becker's ASC Review

12 ASC MANAGEMENT 5 USPI execs to know By Patsy Newitt D allas-based United Surgical Partners International is the largest ASC chain in the country with 410 ASCs and 24 surgical hospitals. Here are five of USPI's major leaders, pulled from the company's website. Brett Brodnax. President and CEO. Mr. Brodnax joined USPI in 1999 and has previously served as the senior vice president, executive vice president and chief development officer. Before joining USPI, Mr. Brodnax was an assistant vice president at Dallas-based Baylor Healthcare System, now known as Baylor Scott & White Health. He has served on several company boards including Ameripath, K2M and Emerus. Owen Morris. CFO. Mr. Morris joined USPI in 2019 and also serves as treasurer of Tenet Healthcare, parent company of USPI. During his tenure at USPI, Mr. Morris has overseen some of the company's major acquisitions, including the acquisition of 45 ASCs from SurgCenter Development in 2020. Prior to joining USPI, he served as managing director of Goldman, Sachs & Co. Peter Blach. COO. Prior to becoming COO of USPI, Mr. Blach served as a market president for USPI, where he was responsible for operations in North Texas and Houston. Before joining USPI in 2007, he was the vice president of operations for Innova Healthcare. Mr. Blach is one of the 10 company leaders on Tenet Healthcare's Diversity Council. Margie Arion. Senior Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer. Ms. Arion serves as the senior vice president for Tenet Healthcare's talent management program and chief human resources officer of USPI, Tenet's Hospital Operations and Tenet Physician Resources. She has more than 30 years of human resource experience. Before joining Tenet in 2018, she served as chief human resources offices at Acosta and worked for 15 years at PepsiCo. Collee Everett. Vice President and Chief Compliance Officer. Ms Everett has 20 years of healthcare experience, previously serving as a regional compliance officer for more than 20 Tenet hospitals in California and Arizona between 2019 and 2021. Before joining Tenet, she served in compliance roles for Logan Health Montana in Kalispell, Sheridan (Wyo.) Memorial Hospital and Kaiser Permanente. n What happens when the COVID-19 PHE ends: 6 things ASC leaders should know By Claire Wallace O n Oct. 13, the Biden administration extended the U.S.' COVID-19 public health emergency for another 90 days; it has been in effect since January 2020, according to ABC News. The emergency declaration changed many elements of the healthcare industry, including regulations around telehealth and the price of vaccines. The declaration has been extended through January 2023, but when it ends, it will likely change the healthcare landscape leaders have come to know over the past two years. Six things ASC leaders should know about the end of the PHE: 1. The declaration allowed the FDA to fast-track COVID-19 vaccines, including the new bivalent booster. Ending the declaration could change the speed at which future vaccines are developed. 2. Under the PHE, COVID-19 vaccines and tests are free for consumers. Once the PHE ends, they will enter the open market, meaning they could cost patients and providers. 3. The emergency extends Medicare coverage, with millions at risk of losing their insurance when the declaration ends. 4. The declaration opened up telehealth to Medicare patients; they may lose insurance coverage for telehealth. 5. Medicare reimbursement for mental health telehealth will end when the declaration expires. 6. Practitioners are able to prescribe controlled substances via telehealth under the declaration; that will be rolled back when it ends. n Ohio surgery center marks 15 years By Paige Haeffele U SPI affiliate Mayfield Spine Surgery Center recently celebrated its 15th year serving patients in the Cincinnati area. The physician-owned center's surgeons have completed more than 86,000 outpatient procedures since its inception in 2007, according to a Sept. 27 news release from the center. "We are proud to commemorate [our staff's] dedication to serving Cincinnati and we look forward to making a continued impact over the next 15 years and beyond," Brad Skidmore, MD, chairman of the center, said in the release. n

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