w/ Will Bok, MD, Providence Anesthesia Associates

The Outpatient Compass: Interview #1

The Outpatient Compass is a discussion series exploring key topics in the world of ASCs. Each month, members of the Compass Surgical Partners team will interview our key staff, physician partners, vendors, and others with in-depth industry knowledge. With so much anticipated growth of ASCs in the coming years, we believe sharing important ideas and concepts will benefit everyone seeking to deliver high-quality care in the ASC setting.

The Importance of Strong Anesthesia Partners and the Migration of Total Joint Replacement and Spine Surgery to ASCs

Will Holding (Compass): Having worked in both hospitals and surgery centers, and having worked with a lot of surgeons, what do you think holds surgeons back from being more engaged in outpatient surgery?

Superior Patient Care, including the Latest Robotic Technology

March 29, 2021 – Clearwater, FL, and Raleigh, NC – Orthopaedic Associates of West Florida (OAWF), Orthopaedic Specialties of Tampa Bay, and Compass partner in premier joint, spine and orthopaedic center in West Florida. The partnership brings together world-class joint, spine and orthopaedic surgeons in Tampa Bay Joint and Spine Center (TBJS).  

This brand new facility will be conveniently located at 26034 US Highway 19 N and is slated to open late 2021. It will have multiple state of the art operating theaters, an extended surgical stay suite, and a dedicated team of specialists concentrating solely on joint and spine care to musculoskeletal patients in the Tampa Bay area.

Compass CEO DJ Hill said, “Given I grew up in Clearwater, this is an important project for me personally. Local residents, including perhaps my parents, will soon be able to receive superior care without going to the hospital. Patients will walk out of the center just hours after having a joint replaced. That means they’ll return to their active lives sooner.”

March 9, 2021 -  Compass is both honored and excited to partner with AdventHealth Hendersonville, Asheville ENT, Carolina Ophthalmology, and Emerge Orthopaedics to launch Western Carolina Surgery Center, a new ASC partnership in the Asheville, NC area. The center will be a destination for outpatient surgery in the area, adding much needed surgical center capacity in the growing region.

Brasfield and Gorrie, a national health care builder, is engaged on the project, which is expected to be open in the Summer of 2021. Having built multiple centers with B&G, the Compass team is thrilled to be working with them again.

With the strong, collaborative partnership of AdventHealth and a group of tenured, well respected surgical groups in the area, Western Carolina Surgery Center will be a true asset to the Asheville community.

Insights from an ASC Expert
Scott Bacon

February 25, 2021 - Should you self-manage your ASC or work with a professional ASC management company?

You might guess the answer will be biased towards partnering with a professional firm (I may know a guy), but my answer may surprise you.

For a surgeon considering the development of a de novo ASC, there are 3 primary management options to consider.

1. Self-manage the partnership/facility – The obvious benefit to this option is the economics. The equity in an ASC is 100% physician-owned, and there is no additional ‘fee’ for management. There are some very successful centers that are managed by the physicians.

Dr. David Howe performs first robotic-arm assisted total knee replacement in an ASC in western North Carolina.

In February 2021, Dr. Howe utilized the Stryker Mako Robotic Arm to perform the knee arthroplasty—the first at Kimel Park Surgery Center (KPSC). KPSC is one of the first freestanding surgery centers in North Carolina to use robotics technology for total replacement.