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This is Gracelyn Keller with the Becker's Healthcare

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Podcast, and we are recording live at the

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twenty second annual Spine Orthopedic and Pain Management

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Conference.

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I'm currently joined by Bruce Feldman, who is

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an administrator at Eastern Orange County Ambulatory Surgery

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Center. So, Bruce, thanks for being here. Let's

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start out by, having you share a little

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bit more about yourself, your role, and your

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organization.

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Sure. So I'm a, seasoned ASC administrator.

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I've been in the ASC world now for

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about twenty plus years. I've held a number

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of leadership positions running both multi specialty and

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single specialty ASCs,

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some of which have been de novo, some

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of which have been part of healthcare systems

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as joint ventures,

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others have been run by ASC management companies.

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Currently I do a lot of ASC business

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consulting,

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specifically in the area of business development.

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Recently got back from a health care system

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in Michigan

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that's looking to expand their footprint in the

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ASC world,

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and

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that's what I've been doing.

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Wonderful. Well, thank you for being here.

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And let's start our conversation with what trends

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or shifts you're currently seeing right now in

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the industry that you think are most important

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for leaders to pay attention to. Well, I

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think we're gonna continue to see more and

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more, complex higher acuity level cases

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shifting from the hospital

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to the ASC arena.

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I think,

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the hot ticket right now is going to

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be in the area of cardiovascular

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services.

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We're starting to,

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see a lot of development

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of single specialty

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cardiac ASCs.

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And I think we're gonna continue to also

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see, a lot of health care systems

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getting into the ASC,

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arena,

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either through the acquisition

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of existing ASCs

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or through the development of their own ASCs

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as this, shift to outpatient care continues.

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Absolutely.

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And let's touch on staffing and workforce challenges

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as well because those continue to be a

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concern across health care.

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So how is your organization navigating those pressures

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and what strategies have you seen work well?

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Well, we recently,

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implemented an internal recruitment strategy

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whereby

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we basically incentivize

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staff members

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who refer a candidate for a vacant position.

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So if one of our staff refers, let's

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say, a surgical technologist,

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they get a certain dollar amount. And after

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that individual has passed their probationary period,

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the employee who did the referral gets a

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certain dollar amount.

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And that has proven to be a very

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good effective strategy because

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most of the

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individuals who are being referred obviously have worked

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with our employees.

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And therefore, that team building

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doesn't need to be done because they already

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know a lot of

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the individuals at the center. So that that's

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one, strategy.

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And then,

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I'm also very focused in on retention.

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I think if you retain your employees, then

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you don't have a recruitment promise,

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problems. So,

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I'm a very firm believer in developing a

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collaborative,

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working environment.

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A 100%.

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And as outpatient care continues to grow, how

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do you see the role of ASCs evolving

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within the broader healthcare ecosystem?

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Well, I think that's gonna continue to grow

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as well. As had mentioned earlier,

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I think you're gonna start seeing more and

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more,

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large health large healthcare systems,

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either requiring or developing their own,

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ASCs in the East,

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Coast. We're seeing a lot of that going

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on right now,

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a lot of joint ventures

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with,

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health care,

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enterprises building ASCs.

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And I think that can trend that trend

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will only continue. I think it's a matter

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of, do you want a smaller piece of

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the pie or no pie at all?

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And, I think there's gonna continue to be

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a shift of higher acuity level cases out

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of the hospital

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into the ASC environment. We all know that

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ASCs are more cost effective,

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higher patient satisfaction, higher physician

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satisfaction, and more efficient.

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And as we round out our conversation,

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many organizations are exploring new technologies, partnerships, or

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care models to improve efficiency and outcomes.

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Are there any innovations or initiatives that you

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found particularly promising?

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I think just the collaborative,

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involvement now with, vendors.

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A lot of vendors are now partnering with

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ASCs,

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to help them

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devise various clinical service lines.

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As an example,

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in orthopedics,

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you're finding a lot of involvement with Stryker

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and with Deploy,

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getting involved with things like implants

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and helping, ASCs to develop, joint replacement programs.

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Wonderful. Well, Bruce, thank you for joining me

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today. Is there anything else you'd like to

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share that we haven't touched on?

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No. I think that it's an exciting time

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for ASCs.

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I think we're gonna continue to see, a

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tremendous growth,

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in the ASC arena as more and more

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cases shift from the inpatient setting

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to the outpatient setting.

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And I think we just have to be

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very, fluid,

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to keep up with those, rapid changes.

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Wonderful. Well, thank you so much for joining

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me today on the Becker's Healthcare Podcast. Again,

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we are recording live at the twenty second

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annual Spine Orthopedic and Pain Management Conference.

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Thank you.