From regional health systems consolidating ownership stakes to national operators expanding into new specialties, 10 ASC transactions defined the first quarter.
The deals span the full spectrum of ASC activity. Surgery Partners moved into the $6 billion dialysis access market, NueHealth added four partnerships across two states, and health systems deepened their outpatient footprints.
Here are 10 major deals involving ASCs and ASC operators in 2026:
1. Hershey, Pa.-based Penn State Health become the sole owner of the Surgery Center of Lancaster (Pa.) Jan. 1. Previously the health system held 60% majority ownership in the ASC. The Surgery Center of Lancaster offers both adult and pediatric procedures, including ear, nose and throat procedures, ophthalmology and orthopedic surgeries.
2. Leawood, Kan.-based ASC company NueHealth announced four ASC partnerships across Missouri and New Jersey. The new partnerships include Hackensack (N.J.) Musculoskeletal Surgery Center, St. Joseph (Mo.) Center for Outpatient Surgery, The Surgical Center at Columbia (Mo.) Orthopaedic Group and Surgery Center of the Northland in Platte City, Mo. The partnerships vary in structure, with NueHealth supporting both minority-equity joint ventures and non-equity management arrangements. Hackensack Musculoskeletal Surgery Center entered a minority-equity joint venture with NueHealth, while St. Joseph Center for Outpatient Surgery selected a non-equity management model.
3. Summit Spine & Joint Centers acquired Savannah (Ga.) Pain Management and Savannah Pain Center. The acquisition includes an interventional pain management practice with one clinic and one ASC. This is the second acquisition for Summit Spine & Joint Centers in the past two years. Summit now has 49 locations across Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina and Tennessee
4. Austin, Texas-based St. David’s HealthCare, a subsidiary of HCA Healthcare, acquired Cardiothoracic and Vascular Surgeons. St. David’s HealthCare comprises nine hospitals, 190 care sites and more than 12,600 employees. It’s a partnership between Nashville, Tenn.-based HCA and two local nonprofits, the St. David’s Foundation and the Georgetown Health Foundation.
5. Medical Facilities Corporation completed the sale of The Surgery Center of Newport Coast in Newport Beach, Calif. The ASC was sold for $1.5 million to Newport Center GK. The company also sold 64% interest in Oklahoma Spine Hospital to SSM Health Care of Oklahoma. The $46 million transaction gave SSM and physician partners acquired 55.5% and 8.45% of equity securities, respectively.
6. Dallas-based Tenet Healthcare, parent company of ASC chain United Surgical Partners International, announced plans to regain full control of its revenue cycle management subsidiary Conifer Health Solutions through a $1.9 billion deal.
7. Tacoma, Wash.-based MultiCare’s proposed merger with Corvallis, Ore.-based Samaritan Health Services is being reviewed by the Oregon Health Authority. The two health systems said that the deal is necessary due to Samaritan Health Services’ poor financial condition. MultiCare would invest $700 million into Samaritan Health over 10 years to help the system stabilize and expand its network. A 30-day initial review of the proposal was launched earlier in February. The Health Care Market Oversight office reviews major healthcare acquisitions and mergers to determine that they would negatively impact working conditions, cost and access to care. If approved, MultiCare will hire about 20 to 50 physicians, upgrade the flagship Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center in Corvallis, and add an emergency department, six to eight urgent care centers, two ASCs, four to eight rehabilitation centers and one or two imaging centers across the state.
8. Brentwood, Tenn.-based Surgery Partners acquired Preferred Vascular Group, an operator of ASCs focused on specialty dialysis access procedures. Preferred Vascular Group has eight ASCs in Georgia and Ohio with a team of 16 physicians and employees. The partnership allows Surgery Partners to enter the $6 billion dialysis access market that has more than 2 million procedures each year.
9. Compass Surgical Partners, Baptist Health and Coastal Health partnered with local physicians to operate an ASC in Jacksonville, Fla. The organizations have taken ownership of Middleburg Surgery Center, a 5,500-square-foot facility with two operating rooms. The multispecialty ASC has 15 physicians committed and performs orthopedic, urology, otolaryngology, pain management and general surgery procedures. Baptist Health and Compass Surgical Partners launched a network of ASCs in Florida in 2024.
10. Atlanta-based Resolve Pain Solutions acquired Southcoast Spine and Pain in Aiken, S.C. Russell Daniel, MD, a pain management physician will join Resolve’s platform as part of the acquisition. Along with his practice in Aiken he will also see patients at Resolve’s existing practice, Advanced Pain Management in Evans, Ga.
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