09/14/2017

7 ASCs recognized with the CASA Award for ASC Excellence

Monterey Peninsula Surgery Center Cass Street wins CASA ASC of the Year

On Thursday, September 7, 2017, CASA revealed the recipients for the 2017 CASA Award for ASC Excellence and the CASA ASC of the Year.  The awards were established to acknowledge that California ASCs are drivers of excellent healthcare, providing opportunities and solutions for healthcare reform.  In 2016, the CASA Board established the CASA Award for ASC Excellence as a mechanism to honor ASCs who strive to “rise to the top.” The program is built around 5 pillar categories acknowledging a CASA member facility who exemplifies best practices in the surgery center industry, plus actively promotes and advocates for ASC excellence and inclusion in the healthcare delivery system.

All of the centers recognized demonstrated significant involvements in the award pillar areas of:

Membership – Facility supports the ASC industry through active engagement in professional organizations.

Advocacy – Facility drives ASC-related legislation at both the Federal and State level through education, action and financial contributions.

Quality Metrics – Facility drives transparency and clinical quality in the ASC through facility benchmarking and public reporting and superior performance of important metrics including outcomes, pricing and patient satisfaction.

Education – Facility ensures clinical best practices, operational efficiency and regulatory compliance through ongoing patient, staff and physician education.

Community Involvement – Facility is actively engaged in educating the public regarding the benefits of ASCs and demonstrating leadership in improving the general health of their community.

The recipients submitted applications with supporting documentation demonstrating their commitment and involvements across the pillar categories.  The applications were reviewed by a select, unbiased committee, who chose 7 of the candidates to receive the award.  From these outstanding ASCs, one was selected to receive the distinguished award of CASA ASC of the Year.  The winners were announced at the annual CASA Business Meeting, during the CASA Conference, September 7, 2017.

2017 CASA Award for ASC Excellence Recipients

Monterey Peninsula Surgery Center- Cass Street
Roseville Surgery Center
Surgery Center of Palo Alto
Surgery Center San Carlos
Surgery Center Fremont
Sutter Alhambra Surgery Center
Sutter Gould Stockton Surgery Center

Dr. David Awerbuck and Shelley Bay of Monterey Peninsula Surgery Center-Cass Street

Monterey Peninsula Surgery Center Cass Street– CASA ASC of the Year

The Monterey Peninsula Surgery Center Cass Street (MPSC -Cass) has been providing outpatient surgery services for 35 years.  They are a very progressive and innovative surgery center, and always on the cutting edge.  For example, they have been performing spine procedures since 2002 and total joints since 2005 and were among the first to move into the bundled payment program methodology.  They are leaders in actively promoting price transparency.  Their physicians are major supporters, advocating for the ASC industry.  They have sent a physician leader to the ASC Washington DC “Fly-Ins” on multiple occasions including presentations to key representatives at the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).  MPSC-Cass is a long time strong supporter of the CASA PAC and have hosted multiple political fundraisers.  They are active participants in benchmarking and outcomes research, including total joint registries and other national projects.  Their Managing Partner, Tom Wilson, has authored numerous articles utilizing these results on the benefits of the ASC industry.  MPSC-Cass is active in their community as members of their local chamber of commerce, and are major sponsors of their community through numerous activities. 

Mary Whitmore, Administrator Roseville Surgery Center and CASA President Peggy Wellman

Roseville Surgery Center

Roseville Surgery Center is a multi-specialty surgery center that opened in 2003..  They are a busy ASC, which has recently implemented a total joint replacement program.  The center and their physicians have been very active politically, hosting two ASC tours, and they are strong participants in the CASA PAC.   Roseville Surgery Center is active across many areas in tracking quality metrics and promote transparency by posting their results on their center's website.  They have already started the OAS-CHPS project and their score is 96% for patient satisfaction.  Roseville Surgery Center is a member of their local chamber of commerce and you may have seen their administrator, Mary Whitmore speaking at the CASA Conference. 

Melody States accepting on behalf of Robin Menefee, Director, Surgery Center Fremont

Surgery Center Fremont

The Surgery Center Fremont is a multi-specialty surgery center that has accomplished a lot for being open a short time.  It was established in 2015 and focuses on gastroenterology procedures, as well as multi-specialty.  They are active CASA members hosting legislative tours and contributing to the CASA advocacy fund.  The Surgery Center Fremont is strong in the area of quality metrics and has achieved the Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care (AAAHC) Kershner Innovations in Quality Improvement Award.  They were selected for this award by demonstrating a successful and measurable quality improvement program.  They have been active in sharing their ideas with other healthcare organizations including representatives from Europe.  The Surgery Center Fremont serves their community through the Gift of Surgery program providing free surgical care to uninsured patients.  They also participate in holiday giving trees and providing meals and Thanksgiving baskets to the homeless in their community. 

Johnny Russell, Administrator Surgery Center Palo Alto

Surgery Center of Palo Alto

The Surgery Center of Palo Alto is a multi-specialty surgery center providing care for over 40 years and sees over 11,000 patients annually.  Their endoscopy unit was recognized by the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ASGE) for their work in surpassing the threshold of adenoma detection rate for every GI physician.  The center has expanded their GI program to Saturday’s, with overwhelming patient and physician satisfaction.  This is simply one of the multiple quality programs directed at GI.  Surgery Center of Palo Alto is a strong supporter of CASA Advocacy efforts.  They are members of their local chamber of commerce and are active in their community outreach through charity care and a holiday drive.

Kristi Burns accepting on behalf of Sandy Keating, Director San Carlos Surgery Center

Surgery Center San Carlos

The Surgery Center San Carlos is a multi-specialty surgery center located in the bay area. They have opened their center for a legislative tour and are active members of the CASA Advocacy fund.  The Surgery Center of San Carlos is strong in the area of quality metrics, participating in benchmarking and AAAHC studies.  They were recognized by the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ASGE) for an outstanding study in pathology collection.  They encourage their staff with strong participation in ASC education and a significant number of their staff are certified across many areas.  The Surgery Center San Carlos is involved in the community by participating in the Gift of Surgery Program to provide free surgical care to uninsured patients with the greatest need and the least access to medical care.  In addition, the center donates medical supplies to communities in need around the world. 

 
Andrew Kim, Administrator Sutter Alhambra Surgery Center

Sutter Alhambra Surgery Center

Sutter Alhambra Surgery Center is an orthopedic surgery center established in 1992.  It has become a premier destination for orthopedic surgery in the greater Sacramento Community.  The center developed an outpatient total joint program in 2013, sharing best practices with other ASCs in California and across the nation. Sutter Alhambra Surgery Center and its leadership are very active in the legislative process, hosting several legislative tours, including Governor Brown.  They have been strong advocates for workers’ compensation reimbursement and have taken that message to several legislators.  This center and their administrator were acknowledged with an award by the United States Office of the Secretary of Defense for their support and their contribution to the employment of military personnel.  Sutter Alhambra Surgery Center actively pursue excellence through quality benchmarks and education.  They are active in their community by working with the local Aspire Public Schools.  They have also built and donated bicycles for underprivileged students. 

Katrina Holmes, Regional Administrator Sutter Gould Stockton Surgery Center, CASA President Peggy Wellman

Sutter Gould Stockton Surgery Center

Sutter Gould Stockton Surgery Center is a multi-specialty surgery center located in Stockton California.  They have been open since 2009.  This center is always ready to welcome a legislator for a tour and have conducted several on both the state and federal level.  A direct result of their efforts, they were instrumental in gaining support for co-sponsoring of ASC legislation on the federal level.  In addition, the center is a strong supporter of the CASA Advocacy Fund.  Sutter Gould Stockton Surgery Center is very active in quality metrics through benchmarking, safety training and lean methodology.  They are active in their local chamber of commerce and serve their community by working with the American Heart Association, Foster Children’s Foundation, Health Care Academy and local scholarship programs.  The staff at Sutter Gould-Stockton Surgery Center have been active in developing education for CASA seminars and the CASA conference and many will recognize their administrator, Katrina Holmes, as a CASA Conference speaker on the subject of patient satisfaction. 

The CASA Board, on behalf of our CASA Membership, would like to extend our congratulations to the above centers on a job well done.