Catholic Health System is closing Sterling Surgical Center in Orchard Park, N.Y., citing declining patient volume, and relocating its surgical services to other ASCs in its network, the health system confirmed in a statement shared with Becker’s.
Sterling Surgical Center, which opened in 2002 with a focus on outpatient ophthalmology and gastroenterology procedures, has seen volume decline to low levels over the past 12 months, Buffalo News reported May 30. Services will be consolidated at Catholic Health ASCs in Amherst, Cheektowaga and Lockport. Affected employees have been offered positions elsewhere in the health system, and those who do not remain with Catholic Health and meet eligibility criteria will receive a severance package. The center cannot officially close until it receives approval from the state’s health department.
Catholic Health acquired a 40% stake in Sterling Surgical Center in 2017 and became the sole owner in 2019, at which time the center employed 28 clinical and administrative professionals and performed approximately 8,600 surgeries annually.
The closure comes as Catholic Health and other Western New York health systems face mounting financial pressure ahead of anticipated Medicaid changes in 2027. The system still operates Niagara Ambulatory Surgery Center in Lockport and recently acquired a 77% stake in Ambulatory Surgery Center of Western New York in Amherst.
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