Taylor Cera, COO of Orthopaedic Surgery Center in Youngstown, Ohio, outlines how the surgery center plans to ramp up elective surgeries and recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Question: What are your top priorities today during the pandemic?
Taylor Cera: First off, it's to keep our staff and patients safe. We've developed policy and procedures based on recommendations from the state of Ohio and the CDC to ensure we are following proper protocols. Second, we've reached out to local hospitals to see how we could be of any help in assisting their efforts to combat this pandemic. Lastly, it's knowing our center's financial picture and being able to adapt during this time.
Q: What are your plans to ramp up your surgical schedule again after the pandemic?
TC: We've just begun opening back up the 'playbook' to some growth initiatives we were developing before this crisis. Continuing to expand some of our service lines and hiring additional nursing support for overnight stay coverage is back in our daily discussions. With what is to now come into the ASC market, we are having interesting conversations.
Q: What is your biggest concern during the ramp up?
TC: It will be to understand any order or recommendations put out by the state of Ohio or CDC specific to elective surgeries after May 1 during Phase 1 of the reopening.
Q: Where do you see opportunities to continue growing and evolving your center over the next 12-24 months?
TC: Specifically, it will be total joints. We've already seen CMS make changes to their fee schedule before COVID-19 and we should expect more of this to come.