ASC News

York, Pa.-based WellSpan Health updated allocation of surgeries between its acute care hospitals and surgery centers and temporarily closed one center as COVID-19 cases spike, according to the Herald-Mail.

The COVID-19 pandemic made 2020 a tumultuous year for ASCs, from restrictions on non-essential surgery to staffing and supply constraints.

 Here are the most-read articles from Becker's ASC Review from Nov. 30 to Dec. 4:

Surgery Partners senior vice president and chief clinical officer Ann Shimek, MSN, RN, died Nov. 25 at the age of 54, according to an obituary.

CMS is expanding flexibility under its "Hospitals Without Walls" initiative, which allows hospitals to provide inpatient care in ASCs and other temporary expansion sites as part of their COVID-19 response efforts.

CMS made it easier for physician-owned hospitals to expand in the 2021 Medicare Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System and Ambulatory Surgical Facility final rule, released Dec. 2.

Cleveland Clinic will postpone all nonessential inpatient surgeries that require a hospital bed or intensive care unit bed at its Ohio locations from Dec. 7 to Jan. 4, 2021, the system announced Dec. 2.

CMS finalized the Outpatient Prospective Payment System and ASC Payment System final rule on Dec. 2.

CMS released its final physician fee schedule for 2021 Dec. 2, decreasing the physician fee schedule conversion factor 10 percent to $32.41.

The 180-member New Jersey Association of Ambulatory Surgery Centers is maintaining open communication with the state's health department in an effort to help ASCs remain fully operational as COVID-19 cases trend in the wrong direction, according to ROI-NJ.com.