AdventHealth is reimagining how ASCs can operate in harmony with — rather than competition against — their hospital counterparts.
At the heart of this transformation is a strategic decision to manage ASCs as distinct entities with tailored operations, financial structures and physician partnerships, while aligning with the broader goals of the health system.
“We all grow together,” Shyroll Morris, senior vice president and chief strategy officer of Altamonte Springs, Fla.-based AdventHealth’s East Florida division, told Becker’s. “That’s been key, and now everyone sees the value of having these additional service locations in the market. It helps consumers, and it helps us grow overall market share.”
This organizational shift allows ASCs to run with the flexibility and efficiency they require while still remaining an integral part of the larger system.
Operationally, the shift hasn’t been a heavy lift for AdventHealth, largely because the organization has approached ASC management with a joint venture mindset from the beginning.
“We’ve run them like a joint venture partnership business from the start, and that’s worked really well,” she explained.
This model allows for agile decision-making and leaner operations.
“You can’t run an ASC like a hospital,” she said. “The overhead is completely different, and the margins are much thinner.”
Because reimbursements in ASCs are significantly lower than in hospital settings, every operational decision must be intentional and financially sound. From staffing levels to implant selection, AdventHealth evaluates each element through a financial lens.
“We run the finances first and make a decision as a team — physicians and administration together — on purchases to ensure that it’s sustainable,” she said. “Cost containment is essential.”
While the rise of ASCs can create tension — especially when cases shift away from hospital ORs — AdventHealth has worked proactively to manage that balance. The key, leaders say, is proper case selection and collaboration.
“There’s tension when it seems like ASCs are pulling cases from the hospital,” she said. “But we’ve really worked together to backfill the hospital with higher-acuity cases and ensure the right cases are going to the ASC. Case selection has been the key area of focus.”
One of the most distinctive elements of AdventHealth’s ASC model is its deep physician engagement. The health system recently partnered with two major physician groups — Cardiology Physicians and North Florida Surgeons — to develop a joint-venture medical office building that includes an ASC.
“It’s been an amazing partnership,” she said. “The physicians are involved in everything — equipment selection, space planning, how we show up in the community. They’re invested literally and figuratively.”
The engagement has paid off. In the initial round of syndication, 15 physicians invested in the venture, and a waitlist is already forming for the next phase. The high level of buy-in demonstrates how shared ownership and decision-making can foster loyalty and alignment with system goals.
“They’ve been great financial and operational partners,” she said. “In fact, we’ve taken some of the operational practices from the ASCs and implemented them in the hospital. Having physician partners involved in operations has been hugely beneficial for us.”
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