Becker's ASC Review

19 TRANSACTIONS 4 Connecticut ASCs avoid bankruptcy through ownership swap By Riz Hatton Four ASCs in Connecticut have been saved from bankruptcy through a change of ownership, Hartford Business reported Oct. 11. e surgery centers are Wilton Surgery Center, Bloomfield Eye Surgery Center, Connecticut Eye Surgery Center South in Milford and Eastern Connecticut Endoscopy Center in Norwich. e ASCs are all currently owned by Envision Healthcare through its affiliate AmSurg. Each ASC has filed a certificate-of-nNeed application with Connecticut's Office of Health Strategy for a transfer of ownership. AmSurg announced Oct. 11 that it will separate from Envision Healthcare. e news comes five months aer Envision filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in May. All of Envison's ASCs will be part of AmSurg and will no longer have any affiliation with Envision. Pacific Investment Management Co., a creditor, will be AmSurg's new majority owner. e deal is expected to be approved by the court during the fourth quarter of 2023. AmSurg owns more than 250 surgical centers in 34 states. n SurgNet acquires 2 ASCs By Claire Wallace N ew-to-market ASC management and development company SurgNet Health Partners has acquired two ASCs within its first 45 days of funding: Dearborn, Mich.-based Executive Ambulatory Surgery Center and Warren, Ohio-based Lippy Surgery Center. Nashville, Tenn.-based SurgNet is backed by venture capital and was founded by ASC industry veterans Chase Neal and John Brock. e partners have more than a century of combined industry experience, according to an Oct. 24 news release from SurgNet. Executive ASC provides services in several surgical specialties. SurgNet closed the partnership deal Sept. 20. Lippy provides otolaryngology and ophthalmology services for children and adults. SurgNet closed the partnership deal Aug. 9. n Surgery Partners adds NorCal Orthopedic Surgery Center By Claire Wallace M anagement services organization Surgery Partners has partnered with San Ramon, Calif.- based NorCal Orthopedic Surgery Center. NorCal was an out-of-network ASC comprising nine operating entities and 25 physician partners, but has joined Surgery Partners to to leverage operational expertise and go in-network with payers, according to an Oct. 25 press release sent to Becker's. The merger was advised and structured by Merritt Healthcare Advisors and NorCal's legal counsel, Ron Grace of Greenberg Traurig. n Optum strikes deal with health system By Patsy Newitt O ptum has struck a deal with Waukesha, Wis.-based ProHealth Care in which it will hire more than 800 of its employees and manage the health system's revenue cycle management, information technology, informatics, analytics and inpatient care management. The four-hospital system, which includes an ASC, operates across Southeast Wisconsin. It employs more than 4,700 people, including 1,000 physicians and other clinicians. This is the third deal Optum has made with health systems in 2023. In January, Optum agreed to take over Owensboro (Ky.) Health's RCM and information technology operations, and Brewer, Maine-based Northern Light Health transferred 1,400 of its office-based employees to the company. n

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