Intermountain Taps Surgery Partners to Manage, Grow ASCs

Intermountain Health recently announced it signed a collaborative agreement for Tennessee-based Surgery Partners to take over management of its ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) in certain markets while developing ASCs in others.

Surgery Partners will manage Intermoutain’s ASCs in Utah and Idaho, according to the April 28th announcement. The organization currently operates surgical facilities and ancillary services in 180 locations nationwide. Surgery Partners touts its “integrated approach to advancing markets,” which enables individualized, market-based care.

“We have chosen Surgery Partners because the organization is uniquely aligned with Intermountain Health’s vision to provide extraordinary care and superior service at an affordable cost,” said Dan Liljenquist, Intermountain Health’s chief strategy officer. “Through this collaboration agreement, Intermountain Health will accelerate our efforts to add more ASCs in the communities we serve and to provide more affordable healthcare options.”

Headquartered in Utah, Intermountain operates 33 hospitals, 385 clinics, and medical groups with about 3,900 employed physicians across seven Western states. The integrated health system also has a health plans division, which covers over 1 million members.

Intermountain has recently invested in its ASC strategy, opening new surgery centers over the last couple of years. Patient volumes have increasingly shifted from inpatient to outpatient since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, prompting greater interest in ASCs and other outpatient care settings. ASC surgery volume, specifically, is projected to grow by 25 percent over the next decade, according to an analysis published by Sg2 Helathcare Intelligence last year.

“While Intermountain has a strong record of high-quality, effective, and efficient operations across our care facilities, we recognize the tremendous value an experienced, best-in-class outpatient surgical center operator like Surgery Partners brings to the table,” said Mike Clark, executive lead of ASCs at Intermountain Health.

“Combining their expertise and experience with ours will add significant value for our surgery patients and caregivers and will establish an operating model upon which we can build as we continue to expand outpatient care at other locations,” he added.

The same day Intermountain announced its collaborative agreement with Surgery Partners, OhioHealth also premiered its new company with the ASC operator. The health system said it plans to create a company with Surgery Partners that will grow ASC joint ventures in Ohio.

“We know there is a tremendous desire from patients to work with a trusted healthcare partner for their care,” Brian Jepson, OhioHealth president of central market, said in the announcement last week. “OhioHealth is already that partner for inpatient as well ambulatory care in more than half of the state of Ohio. However, to support our organization’s desire to grow beyond our traditional geographic areas, to meet patients where they are in their health journey, and to partner with surgeons across the state, we needed the right management partner. We feel Surgery Partners, the leading independent operator of surgical facilities, is the perfect fit.”