Leslie Small

Ardent Health, Inc. (NYSE: ARDT) plans to open two new ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) this year as part of its ongoing strategy to grow its outpatient care portfolio. The Brentwood, Tennessee-based company is also bullish about urgent care: It opened four urgent care clinics during the first quarter across its Idaho, New Mexico and Texas markets and plans to open one more such clinic later this year.  In addition, Ardent Health aims to open one freestanding emergency department in 2026, … [Read more...]

Surgery Partners Inc. (Nasdaq: SGRY) has experienced a swirl of negative headlines in the past year: an unsuccessful private-equity takeover bid, unexpected headwinds that drove an earnings shortfall, an activist investor’s push for a company overhaul, and a lawsuit accusing the surgical facility operator of fraudulent billing practices.  However, executives at the Tennessee-based company had largely positive news to report when discussing first-quarter 2026 earnings on May 5. “We are … [Read more...]

Todd Albert, M.D., wants to make high-quality care so consistent at Legent Health that visiting one of its orthopedic/spine surgery centers is not unlike going to McDonald’s or Starbucks. Albert – who is also the surgeon-in-chief emeritus at Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) – was recently named chief medical officer of Legent, the Texas-based ambulatory surgery center (ASC) operator. Recently, Legent became the platform in which HSS and General Atlantic will grow their national ASC … [Read more...]

Las Vegas may be better known as a vacation and gambling mecca, but it can also lay claim to a more healthcare-specific title: the U.S. city with the most Medicare-certified ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs). Las Vegas had the most ASCs among U.S. cities in the first quarter of 2025, boasting 59 centers, according to new data from industry research and intelligence firm ASC Data. Las Vegas has been leading the pack in recent quarters, also at No. 1 in Q4 2025, with 58 ASCs. Atlanta and … [Read more...]

Tenet Healthcare Corp. (NYSE: THC) has been an enthusiastic purchaser of ambulatory surgery centers (ASC). At the same time, its CEO says the health system has seen such success with its ASC arm – United Surgical Partners International (USPI) – in part because it is judicious about which centers are worthy of investment. “Our diligence processes are robust,” CEO Saum Sutaria, M.D., said during Tenet’s first-quarter 2026 earnings call on April 30. “We still say ‘no’ to more centers than we … [Read more...]

During an April 28 hearing on Capitol Hill, federal lawmakers repeatedly asked health system CEOs why procedures like colonoscopies are several times more expensive when performed at a hospital – or health system-owned outpatient facility – compared to an independent ambulatory surgery center (ASC).  In their responses, Sam Hazen of HCA Healthcare Inc. (NYSE: HCA) and CommonSpirit Health’s Wright Lassiter III conceded that there may be some merit in site-neutral payment reforms, which would … [Read more...]

Mercy Medical Center has agreed to pay a $14.8 million fine for allegedly providing financial benefits to an investment company that holds a stake in the hospital’s ambulatory surgery center (ASC). The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG) said the Cedar Rapids, Iowa-based Mercy Medical Center self-disclosed its violation of the Civil Monetary Penalties Law.  OIG alleged that the Catholic hospital paid “fees and expenses identified in the … [Read more...]

HCA Healthcare Inc. (NYSE: HCA) executives are satisfied with the performance of their ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) despite a slight decline in surgery volume.  Outpatient surgery volume for HCA dipped 1.7% in the first quarter of 2026 compared to the prior-year period, CFO William Rutherford said during HCA’s April 24 earnings call. That breaks down to a 2.1% decline in hospital-based outpatient surgeries and 1% in ASCs. “On the hospital side, we saw a little bit of weakness in our … [Read more...]

Atlas Healthcare Partners, which just announced that it’s teaming up with Minnesota-based Fairview Health Services to develop and operate a network of ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs), is far from finished with its recent joint-venture spree. In fact, the joint venture with Fairview is the sixth such partnership unveiled by Atlas, and more announcements are coming soon. “We also recently finalized an ASC relationship with a large system that will be announced in the near future,” Atlas … [Read more...]

Although Community Health Systems Inc. (NYSE: CYH) missed its earnings target in the first quarter of 2026, executives expressed enthusiasm about the company’s recent efforts to grow its ambulatory surgery center (ASC) portfolio. Before diving into the Tennessee-based health system’s financial results during an April 21 earnings call, Community Health Systems CEO Kevin Hammons noted his company recently made some “significant investments in ambulatory surgery centers in our core … [Read more...]