According to Andrew Wade, CEO of OrthoSC in Myrtle Beach, S.C., orthopedic ASCs can offer a hyper-focused level of care unavailable at any other site of service.
Mr. Wade joined Becker's to discuss why patients are flocking to orthopedic ASCs, and what his biggest day-to-day challenge is.
Editor's note: These answers were edited lightly for clarity and brevity.
Question: What's drawing patients to ASCs over hospital settings?
Andrew Wade: Efficiency, access and experience. When patients choose an orthopedic ASC, they're choosing a hyper-focused center of care where, in most cases, all that center does is orthopedic care. We eat, sleep and breathe the work of getting patients in to be taken care of quickly, making the process seamless, and ensuring that our teams are focused on creating really great experiences. Additionally, while most consumers don't recognize it yet, ASCs are substantially lowering the cost of care for the healthcare system as a whole. We're big fans of our hospital partners within our community, and they play a vital role, but they are much bigger organisms, and they have significantly greater complexity to take care of patients under their roofs. We get to zero in and really deliver focused excellence.
Q: What's your biggest day-to-day challenge and how are you addressing it?
AW: Staffing is by far the biggest challenge that we're facing today. The inflationary market pressure on all of our collective purchasing power and the "great reshuffling" have created extreme wage competition and a hyper-competitiveness within the market. We’re addressing these challenges by raising wages/benefits, looking for ways to create increased flexibility in where, when and how our team members do their jobs, and working harder than ever to ensure that our team members know that we appreciate and value their vital part in our collective ability to take care of our community.