Becker's ASC Review

5 ASC MANAGEMENT Good news for the ASC labor market By Laura Dyrda e labor market tightened over the last year and surgery center leaders are keeping a close eye on the trends. Alfonso del Granado, administrator and CEO of Covenant High Plains Surgery Centers in Texas, told Becker's the top issue he's watching ahead of 2024 is the possible easing of the healthcare labor market. "Although there are signs that the overall labor market nationwide is easing, there are two factors that make it difficult for me to tell for sure," he said. "First, healthcare labor has its own challenges that have been worsening over the past decade, and these decouple it somewhat from the general labor market. And second, my experience is very regionalized, as my centers are at a geographic remove from major population centers, which makes it hard to import labor, but also ensures a reasonably steady local supply." e local health systems affect labor markets in any region; some are cutting jobs while others are expanding services and providing incentive bonuses for talent. Inflation and competition for talent have pushed up staff wages considerably at surgery centers. "I am closely observing the impact and trajectory of increasing salaries for our healthcare workers, which signifies a growing recognition for their crucial role in patient care," said Sarah Sterling, director of area operations for San Francisco at Sutter Health surgery center division. "As leaders strive to manage budgets while retaining and attracting talent, we will face the challenge of fostering greater creativity in how our teams function. It will be fascinating to see how industry leaders respond to this demand and achieve balance." Economists have good news for surgery centers ahead of the new year. e Wall Street Journal reported inflation is slowing faster than expected and could be back to normal next year. "I'm somewhat optimistic that this shortage is easing somewhat, if only for the short term, as our growth plans are highly dependent on our ability to attract top talent in the coming months," Mr. del Granado said. Nurses and other medical roles may also be more willing to take a pay cut to work in the outpatient setting than they were in previous years. Ira Richterman, MD, an orthopedic surgeon at Canton, Ohio-based OrthoUnited Spectrum, said some ASCs found they were able to maintain and hire staff at a lower pay rate than hospitals as long as the surgery center provided more work-life balance. Nurses are looking for ways to avoid burnout and work more favorable hours, which surgery centers can provide. "Working during the day, and no nights, weekends or holidays, certainly represents great value," Dr. Richterman told Becker's. "Hospital systems have created an unsustainable pay scale escalation. ese over inflated labor costs are having detrimental consequences to their financial survival." n Is value-based care the key to ASC success? By Paige Haeffele A report by Humana released Nov. 15 found that value- based care benefits physicians and patients. In light of that finding, is adopting a value-based care model going to make or break ASCs? Some healthcare leaders say value-based care models are a large factor in the future success of care delivery. David Kim, MD, CEO of MemorialCare Medical Foundation, a Fountain Valley, Calif.-based medical group, told Becker's the future of healthcare depends on it. "Through driving the principles of value-based care, we can think more about how to take resources to care for a population versus, "How do I care for our population so I can get more resources?" he said. "Those are very different approaches. And I think the future of healthcare relies on figuring out how to do value-based care successfully. And when you look at some of the investments that Memorial has made over the years, like our ASCs, and our many other joint ventures, we're ahead of the game in terms of thinking about how to care for our population in a value-based care way. "So how do we execute on value-based care? How do we engage physicians as partners? How do we engage our employees and caregivers as active, contributing members of the team? And then how do we make care accessible?" The report also found that Medicare Advantage patients receiving care under value-based arrangements were more likely to receive preventive care and experience fewer hospitalizations and that the same patients were more likely to spend more time with their primary care physician. Despite this, young physicians are participating in fee-for-service models more than other methods of payment, according to a report published by Medscape. Forty-one percent of young physicians participate in fee-for-service models, while only 16% use value-based payment models. Ali Ghalayini, administrator at Munster (Ind.) Surgery Center, said he believes in the importance of value-based care but shared other ways to secure success. "As healthcare reimbursement models shift from fee-for-service to value-based care, ASC leaders must focus on delivering high-quality outcomes and patient satisfaction. Centers that can demonstrate efficient and effective care delivery while maintaining excellent patient experiences will likely be rewarded, Mr. Ghalayini told Becker's. "Therefore, tracking and improving key performance indicators such as infection rates, patient-reported outcomes, readmission rates and patient satisfaction scores are essential. Collaborations with payers and accountable care organizations to align incentives and performance goals can be advantageous." n

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