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Ambulatory surgery centers outnumber general hospitals in PA

Nurse Leader Weekly, January 3, 2007

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The Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council recently issued a report showing that outpatient surgery centers outnumber general hospitals (202 v. 180 as of May), and perform one of every four surgical and diagnostic procedures in the state, according to the The Hanover, PA-based Evening Sun.

Proponents of ambulatory surgery cxenter (ASC) development, such as Craig Jeffries, executive director of the American Association of Ambulatory Surgery Centers, argue that ASCs are "a very, very successful model that needs to be encouraged and expanded," according to the story. "Unfortunately, it does that at the expense of the traditional position of the hospital in their community."

Opponents of the growth, such as Keith Knoll, vice president of ambulatory services at Wellspan Health in Gettysburg, PA, argue that surgery is one of only four way hospitals make money, and that independent ASCs take paying customers away and leaving hospitals with a greater percentage of indigent patients.

To read the Evening Sun story, click here.

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