The Bleeding Edge Vol. 21 No. 10
By: Stephen W. Earnhart
The most frequent request we handle is developing a surgery center. The mistake that may people make is hiring a surgery center company to do this for them. Unless you want a company to own part of your surgery center and manage it forever, your best option is to hire a consultant to do this for you. Unlike a surgery center company, a consultant such as Earnhart & Associates, will get the job done for you quickly because most ASC development projects on a flat fee, and will leave when you tell them to go. With a surgery center company that owns part of your surgery center, you are typically locked into a contract with them that can last for decades. This is either for a physician group, a hospital, or both. Developing a surgery center is a long and labor intensive process requiring over 1,100 individual forms and 1,700 man-hours of effort! The typical development process can take between four to eighteen months to completion and involves activities as varied as creating legal partnerships, hiring staff and marketing the new facility. By hiring a surgery center consultant – not an owner – you stay with the same person that you start with, not rotating staff members that can quickly lose sight of your goal.
There is no magic about the development of a surgery center. But it does require a strong ability to identify, analyze and solve problems, meticulous attention to detail and a through understanding of all aspects of the legal, technical and management areas of building a facility. There are virtually hundreds of steps involved and many issues that will arise along the way. Can you do it yourself? Certainly! The question is, how much time can you afford to devote to a project that will consume your energy, stretch your administrative capabilities and still continue to manage your healthcare business?
When we say we provide a “turnkey project,” we mean just that. After a detailed feasibility study we manage every step of the project beginning with creating a legal structure and ensuring financing. We take care of virtually every detail from recommending architectural firms to medical staff by-laws. At the end of the project, you have a Medicare Certified ASC that is designed to be cost efficient, properly staffed, and meets the needs of your community and users.
