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10 ASC MANAGEMENT ASCs in the wake of natural disasters: 10 notes on response efforts By Claire Wallace In the last year, several regions of the U.S. have been hit with devastating natural disasters, from wildfires to hurricanes. ese natural disasters have greatly affected health systems, forcing ASCs to close their doors, either temporarily or permanently, while creating global medical supply shortages. Here are 10 ways that ASCs, health systems and suppliers have responded to widespread natural disasters this year: 1. Shuffling staff members: Following wildfires in Los Angeles, several ASCs closed to allow their employees to staff emergency rooms and hospitals to help out with patient care where needed. 2. Moving patient cases: In many cases, ASCs that were forced to close due to fire damage worked together with health systems to relocate surgical cases. 3. Temporarily shutting their doors: Several health systems were forced to close, not just in the wake of fire in Los Angeles, but also in the wake of Hurricane Milton in Florida and Hurricane Beryl in Texas. 4. Postponing procedures: Several hospitals and health systems have had to postpone procedures due to obstacles in securing IV fluids aer flooding in the wake of Hurricane Helene damaged a Baxter International plant in Marion, N.C. 5. Suppliers reopening: Baxter has officially restarted all 10 manufacturing lines at the Marion, N.C., facility. 6. ASCs readily adapt due to their size and structure: "It's easier with an ASC," Ken Schaff, regional ASC administrator at HCA Surgery Ventures, told Becker's. "It's smaller and more nimble than hospitals. We communicate directly with our clinical staff. We keep supplies in a single location for better control." Every day, staff retrieve their daily work and log any IV solution, allowing the team to maintain a daily inventory and stay ahead of their usage, Mr. Schaff said. 7. Learning lessons from former shortages: Many ASCs learned the importance of being nimble and streamlining communications when dealing with supply shortages brought on by the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. "Supply allocations have also been added to the mix of the pandemic pain. We have increased our budget reserve for essential supplies instead of buying when needed," Catherine Llavanes, CEO of Sante Health Partners in Los Angeles, told Becker's. "is will help ensure that there will be minimal disruption if there is a supply shortage. We try to be prepared and stay in tune with the daily changes in emergency management in each state we operate." 8. Maintain a supply strategy: Supply costs make up a median 28% of an ASC's revenue, according to Avanza's 2022 "Key ASC Benchmarks and Industry Figures" report, and the average ASC spends about $2.9 million on drugs and other medical supplies. "e biggest lesson from this situation is the need for redundancy in vendors," Mr. Schaff said. "Relying solely on one vendor, like Baxter, can be risky, especially if a natural disaster affects their supply. We need to diversify our supply sources to prevent crises from crippling our operations." 9. Emphasize communication: Post Falls, Idaho-based Pleasant View Surgery Center is emphasizing communication amid shortages, Administrator Molly Gallant told Becker's. "We are collaborating closely with our anesthesia providers to use IV fluids more conservatively while ensuring our patients maintain a stable, euvolemic condition," she told Becker's. For shorter procedures or those utilizing total intravenous anesthesia anesthesia, her team is using saline locks to conserve fluids for more complex surgeries, such as total joint replacements. 10. Diversifying vendors: Patrick Rehm, administrator of Georgetown (Texas) Surgery Center, told Becker's his team is "securing accounts with multiple IV solution vendors" and working with anesthesia to use saline syringes with hep locks for smaller gastrointestinal, ophthalmology and pain cases. n Rising minimum wage & more labor cost changes affecting ASCs By Francesca Mathewes M ore than 20 states increased their minimum wage on Jan. 1, increasing wages for more than nine million workers by a total of nearly $6 billion, according to the Economic Policy Institute. Here are five other things for ASCs to know about shifts in the cost of labor: 1. The Consumer Price Index increase, also known as inflation, hit 2.9% in December 2024, according to the most recent available data by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Inflation rose 0.4% from November to December 2024 and increased 3.2% year over year. 2. Supply costs per full-time employee increased 82% from 2013 to 2022 for physician-owned, multispecialty practices, according to a report released in May 2024 by the Medical Group Management Association. 3. From 2022 to 2023, the percentage of healthcare providers with an internal minimum wage of more than $15 per hour went from 15.6% to 29.1%, according to a survey from consulting firm SullivanCotter. Additionally, 90% of providers have an internal hourly minimum wage higher than the federal, state and local wages. 4. A September 2024 report by Mercer predicted a 5.8% rise in total health benefit cost per employee in 2025, even after accounting for planned cost-reduction measures. 5. The net inflation adjustment for ASCs is 2.9% in 2024, nearly a full percentage point higher than the average since 2023, according to the VMG Health 2025 Healthcare M&A Report. n