FEATURE
time that we can, which is about an hour before their surgery, so that they are not sitting around waiting a long time to have their surgery done.” Smith worked at a hospital prior to opening ENT Surgery Center of Atlanta and says that the ASC setting has a number of advantages when it comes to treating children.
“Our center is so much smaller than the large hospital,” she says. “It’s already overwhelming for children to come into a setting knowing that they are going to be taken from their parents and that something is going to happen to them that will hurt. It’s only natural that they are afraid. Our setting is comforting and our staff is family oriented. We allow one parent to go back in the OR with the child while they go to sleep, so that allevi- ates some of the fears of the child. Most hospital settings do not allow that, even the pediatric hospitals. “There’s a huge difference in how
behavior is in a hospital versus in an ASC,” Smith continues. “It’s just a much better environment for the children. Their surgeries are quicker, their wait times are shorter and the recovery is much faster. The parents are more involved with their recov- ery process, which allows for a hap- pier child and a more comfortable environment for everyone.”
Pediatric Surgery Centers (Brandon and Odessa, Florida) When the four physicians who are planning to open an ASC are fellow- ship-trained in pediatrics, it is only natural that the ASC they open focus on pediatrics. This was the case with Pediatric Surgery Centers (PSC) in Brandon, Florida, says Administrator Theresa Ulm, RN, CASC. “The four majority physician
owners are three ear, nose and throat (ENT) pediatric-fellowship trained doctors—they are partners in a prac- tice—and the fourth owner is an an- esthesiologist. He’s also pediatric-
“The efficiency in which we run
here works for kids,” Ulm continues. “We have two ORs in one building from which we can do 55 cases between 7:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. It just runs.” Most procedures—about 75 per- cent—performed at PSC are in ENT, with the rest as a mix of general sur- gery, gastroenterology, ophthalmol- ogy, plastic surgery and a little po- diatry. From a business perspective, the ASCs perform well, even with a lot of their cases covered by Medic- aid, Ulm says.
There’s a huge difference in how behavior is in a hospital versus in an ASC. It’s just a much better environment for the children.”
—Deborah Smith, ENT Surgery Center of Atlanta, Atlanta, Georgia
fellowship trained. Taking care of children is what they all do.” Ulm has been with PSC since
2006. The Brandon ASC opened in 2005, and she became administrator of this facility as well as the second PSC ASC when it opened in Odessa, Florida, in 2008. While Ulm says the experience with PSC is her only ASC experience, she believes surgery cen- ters are the perfect setting for pediat- ric cases. “We have kids in the center a lot less time than they seem to need in the hospital. You have the ability to, within the guidelines and structure of running a compliant ASC, take away the anxiety-producing behavior in children. We don’t undress them, and we don’t put them on stretchers. We either carry them or walk them back to the ORs. By the nature of an ASC, you are set up for pediatrics in that your turnover time is shorter and, therefore, their wait is shorter. It seems to me that we don’t have to do some of the things that they have done historically in hospitals.
“Just by nature of the way medi-
cine is now, we’re 55 percent Medic- aid. To make this work well, you need volume. Medicaid is an easy system to access billing-wise, and they gen- erally pay you in a timely manner. As long as you keep your efficiencies and processes simple and costs down, it works. That’s not just pediatrics. That’s business.” To grow, PSC focuses significantly networking
on with pediatricians,
Ulm says. “We work hard to get to know the pediatricians in our area,” she says. “We’ll visit their offices. We also net- work through our employees. Many of them are young and have kids in grammar school, so we’ll supply them with promotional materials to give to the school and kids.”
PSC also benefits from its strong reputation in the community for pro- viding excellent care for its patients, Ulm says. “When you’re around people who
work in pediatrics, I think you find that they really are focused on the pa- tient, on just the child. They have to
ASC FOCUS APRIL 2013 17
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