CASE STUDY: SURGERY CENTER OF SOUTHERN NEVADA AND
MEDICAL DISTRICT SURGERY CENTER

Doubling Down: Regent Develops Two Successful ASCs in Las Vegas

Four years ago, Regent Surgical Health entered the highly competitive Las Vegas market by attaching an outpatient surgery center to an existing hospital with underutilized operating rooms.

The ambulatory surgery center, named Surgery Center of Southern Nevada, is on the backside of a Kindred Hospital long-term acute care facility. Across the street is a large hospital, and a few miles away is one of the city’s largest hospitals, giving the center a pool of physicians to draw from.

Because the center was part of an existing facility, construction on the new venture was 30 percent of the average cost to construct an ambulatory surgery center. Regent, a leader in surgery center development, then recruited 12 pain management physicians and neurosurgeons to provide pain management, spine surgery and orthopedics. The outpatient surgery center performs minimally-invasive spine surgeries, such as lumbar and cervical fusions, offering patients a more comfortable environment. A combination of the doctors’ levels of expertise, 23-hour overnight stays and integration with a hospital allows SCSN to perform surgeries that were traditionally done in a hospital setting and that other ambulatory surgery centers cannot offer.

Within three years, the center’s 19 physician partners have enjoyed the fruits of a successful investment. “The synergy created between neuro, spine and pain procedures has helped lead to the center’s success, ” says Dr. Benjamin Venger, a neurosurgeon who developed the center’s spine program with Regent.

Dr. Venger also gives credit to Regent’s expertise, flexibility and management style. “The background of Regent’s principals brings diversity and insight into what we do.”

Because of the remarkable success of Surgery Center of Southern Nevada, Regent duplicated the neuro and spine specialties model in its second center, the Medical District Surgery Center, which opened in March.

Unable to locate another hospital with underutilized surgery suites, Regent acquired an underperforming ambulatory surgery center from a hospital that wanted to remain involved as a minority partner.

Located in a medical office building about eight miles northwest of Regent’s first center, the 8,000 square-foot Medical District Surgery Center features three ORs and 12 recovery beds. Like the first center, MDSC provides easy access to doctors because of its location on a hospital campus. With its reputation established in Las Vegas, Regent was able to recruit 26 doctors as partners and granted another 20 doctors privileges. Within three months of investment by the new partnership, MDSC returned to profitability.

“Regent helped the center become successful so quickly because we have the right mix of doctors—the right specialties and the best surgeons in those specialties,” says Joe Dylag, the administrator at MDSC.

Regent’s management and clinical operations expertise helped organize the center, establish best practices and negotiate favorable rates with payers. Dylag says, “Because Regent is so efficient, we produce more cases with fewer staff while providing high quality patient care.”

Regent Senior Vice President Jeff Simmons says, “Regent sets the table very well and finds administrators who are real strong and can execute. We’re fortunate that in Las Vegas we have two very strong administrators.”

As both centers’ success continues to grow, Regent is considering developing or acquiring a third center.