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.
ASC News
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.
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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.
Cincinnati-based UC Medical Center canceled all elective procedures requiring hospitalizations and is implementing several other maneuvers to preserve bed capacity for COVID-19-related hospitalizations, Local12 reports.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced new COVID-19 restrictions Nov. 30, including elective surgery suspension for one county, according to The Buffalo News.
The Pennsylvania Department of Health issued a state order that will delay elective procedures in regions that meet certain surge criteria.