CASE STUDY: CENTER FOR SPECIAL SURGERY AT SAN ANTONIO

Center for Special Surgery at TCA Finds Niche in Sports Medicine

Since 1987, the physician partners at the Center for Special Surgery in San Antonio had run a physician owned ASC with the help of a general management partner. Over the years, the underperforming surgery center’s profits began to decline and it became apparent that its equipment and structure were outdated.  When the decision was made to move the center to a new location, the physicians chose to purchase the facility from the general partner.

After acquiring the center, the physicians looked for a new management company to ensure their venture’s profitability. They hired Regent Surgical Health, a management company with a proven track record for repositioning struggling facilities.  Regent worked with the physician investors to re-negotiate insurance contracts, establish an ideal case mix, and re-organize management, accounting and human resource support.

With Regent’s assistance, the physicians were able to efficiently transfer to the new facility, losing only one workday in the process.  Regent worked with the center’s physician partners to provide the 14,000 square-foot building’s six ORs with the latest equipment and its administration with effective business practices. The move reaped immediate rewards - The number of cases seen in the first month at the new location was the highest for any month in the past two years.

Today, pride of ownership and a strong relationship with the administrative staff has helped the physician partners at the Center for Special Surgery @ TCA explode their business.  The center has increased its monthly volume of cases from 135 to an average of 328 in 2009.  Being housed next door to the San Antonio Spurs training facility has also helped the center find its patient care niche – in sports medicine.  The facilities case mix is primarily composed of sports related disciplines, such as Ortho, Pain, and Hand Surgery.    

This pride of ownership fosters the physicians’ exceptional commitment to the center. "The physician owners play a very active role in the development of the center," Administrator Eric Day says. "The whole group has a great work ethic.  This is a great team environment." Day is confident that the center’s quality service and effective business practices will ensure its future success. "This is an exceptionally efficient and patient-oriented center with a bright future" he says. "As long as we continue to focus on those two areas I feel the center will continue to grow”.