FEATURE


on-one with states that reach out to its staff for assistance. Two recent exam- ples occurred in Nevada and Virginia. The spotlight landed on Nevada


in November 2013 when the Nevada Hospital Association submitted a peti- tion to the Nevada Board of Health— a division of the state Department of Health and Human Services—to pre- clude ASCs from performing proce- dures on any patient if Medicare has designated that procedure as inpatient- only for its beneficiaries. Working with the Nevada Ambulatory Surgery Cen- ter Association (NASCA), 90 percent of the ASCs in the state wrote to the Board of Health voicing opposition to the petition. The joint campaign was successful, and the Board ultimately denied the petition, citing insufficient evidence to move forward. The writing, however, was on the


wall: Nevada would be a continu- ous battleground for ASCs to defend their scope of practice. The campaign strengthened the working relationship between ASCA member leaders and staff and the state association. Building on this relationship, ASCA once again worked with NASCA to help imple- ment its strategic meeting in August 2014. The goal was to connect ASCA with the membership in-state, as well as to help NASCA increase its mem- bership and participation in its advo- cacy programs. To accomplish this, ASCA provided staff assistance and recruitment tools and helped bring in speakers and funding for the event. “It is great to have this relation-


ship with ASCA, and its assistance with planning and implementing the meeting in August was invaluable,” says Ahsan Khan, executive director, NASCA. “We have a long-term, strong working relationship with ASCA that has been instrumental in facing the challenges from the Nevada Hospital Association.” In Virginia, ASCA has been involved in helping to re-launch the


18 ASC FOCUS FEBRUARY 2015


organization that will best serve Vir- ginia ASCs.” Together with ASCA, the VASA officers—Fromme, Duffy, Vice President William Stacy, Trea- surer Patrick Guzik and Secretary Eric Hays—hold biweekly conference calls to work on modernizing the associa- tion’s bylaws, recruiting membership, transitioning financial obligations, and raising the association’s profile within the Virginia health care industry. The goal for the VASA leadership


A key component in building a comprehensive nationwide ASC advocacy structure is developing associations in every state.”


—Blake McDonald


Virginia Ambulatory Surgery Asso- ciation (VASA). After the associa- tion’s board members resigned in Jan- uary 2014, ASCA staff began working with Chris Fromme, vice president of operations at United Surgical Partners International (USPI), and president of VASA, and Ryan Duffy vice president of operations and board member at the Ambulatory Surgery Division of Hos- pital Corporation of America (HCA). ASCA staff reached out to all the cen- ters in the state and facilitated elec- tions for a new suite of officers. “Early on in the process, we set out


to get buy-in from interested centers in the state,” Fromme says. “Work- ing together we were able to collect nominations and establish officers. We are a small group now but have been working diligently to put forth an


is to have a successful 2015 annual meeting, with high attendance, indus- try buy-in, useful educational sessions and clear-cut advocacy and association development goals. The organization created by the work VASA is doing has resonated with centers in Virginia. “I am excited to see the momen- tum from the re-establishment of the association,” says Kenny Ellinger, RN, administrator of Surgi-Center of Central Virginia in Fredericksburg, Virginia. “The advocacy on behalf of the high-quality, low-cost care being delivered in our facilities across the Commonwealth is much welcomed. ASCs are well positioned to continue to bend the cost curve for surgical care down while at the same time pushing the quality up, and it is great to have active representation at a higher level.” As 2015 begins, ASCA staff is


working with the State Affairs Com- mittee and associations across the country to expand the ASC industry’s organization and scope of influence. It is ASCA’s goal to have strong, inde- pendently functioning associations in every state.


For questions about how you can get involved with supporting ASCA and your state association, please write Blake McDonald, assistant director of outreach at ASCA, at bmcdonald@ascassociation.org.


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