Faced with declining profitability and operational challenges, a 12-year-old ophthalmic ASC (Surgery Center) with four operating rooms (ORs), partnered with VMG Health to execute a comprehensive turnaround strategy aimed at restoring financial health and operational excellence.
Situation
Surgeon owners expressed dissatisfaction with facility leadership, operational inefficiencies, and poor financial returns. During a one-day onsite assessment, the VMG Health ASC Consulting team identified $987,000 in missed revenue tied to issues in the revenue cycle management process. The Surgery Center’s Governing Board granted full operational control to VMG Health to lead a two-year transformation initiative.
Solution
Over the first year, VMG Health overhauled operations by implementing of a new staffing model, restructuring partnerships, and adopting industry best practices for revenue cycle management. They revamped all policies and procedures, transitioned to terminal sterilization, outsourced anesthesia services and introduced patient engagement applications to enhance operational efficiency and improve collections.
Success
Beyond transformation of leadership and organizational culture, the ASC saw a $1.2 million revenue increase and $490,000 in additional distributions in year one. By year two, partner distributions reached $1 million representing a 350% increase in profitability during the pandemic period. In year three, distributions climbed to $1.7 million. Five years post-engagement, the center remains independently successful, relying on VMG Health only as needed. The nursing leadership leverages the VMG Health online ASC Connection (eSupport) membership for ongoing regulatory compliance and training.
A data-driven, operationally sound ASC is key to long-term profitability. This ASC’s transformation demonstrates how strategic management directly impacts financial outcomes.
