Ambulatory surgery center (ASC) development and management company Compass Surgical Partners is beefing up its leadership team.
Compass announced on Sept. 9 that ASC industry veteran Chris Fromme has been named to the COO role. Fromme’s more than 25 years of health care experience includes stops at ASCs, dental practices and behavioral health organizations, Compass noted in its announcement.
Fromme most recently served as CEO of Star Dental Partners. He held the COO role at Behavioral Innovations prior to that. From June 2011 to April 2018, Fromme served as a regional vice president at United Surgical Partners International (USPI), where he led ASC joint ventures in multiple states.
“Chris is a proven leader who has demonstrated success in scaling health care services companies while maintaining a strong focus on clinical excellence, operational performance and patient experience,” DJ Hill, CEO of Compass, said in the announcement.
The Raleigh, North Carolina-based Compass develops and manages a vast network of ASCs across numerous specialties, from cardiovascular and spine to orthopedics, pain management and more. Some of its existing JV partners include North Florida Surgeons, Baptist Health, WakeMed and Bon Secours Mercy Health.
There are at least 30 ASCs in Compass’ development portfolio.
“[Fromme’s] extensive work with health systems, combined with his ability to align diverse stakeholders, will help Compass continue to deliver measurable value for patients, as well as physician and health system partners,” Hill continued.
Robert Carrera previously served as the COO of Compass, having joined the ASC company in April 2022.
In its announcement, Compass framed Fromme’s hiring as a strategic one to best position the company to capitalize on site-of-service shifts and regulatory changes, such as the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) plan to terminate the Medicare Inpatient-Only List.
“The next three to five years will be pivotal for ASC joint ventures, and I’m excited to join the Compass team at a time of strategic growth and opportunity,” Fromme said in the announcement. “As COO, I will focus on creating environments where clinicians can deliver exceptional patient experiences. When you build systems that take care of physicians and their patients, everything else takes care of itself.”
