Bernadette Purser, senior administrator of ambulatory surgery at VCU Health, and Sheldon Barr, president of VCU Community Memorial Hospital, joined Becker’s to discuss how the health system is expanding access to care through a strategic, data-driven ASC network.
Editor’s note: This interview was edited lightly for clarity and length.
Question: How would you characterize VCU Health’s ambulatory strategy, and what’s top of mind right now?
Sheldon Barr: We continue to grow, expand and invest in our ASCs in order to meet our patients where they are. For example, we recently broke ground on a new ASC/medical office building being built in Chesterfield, Va., which includes four operating rooms and two procedure rooms. It’ll be multispecialty and include endoscopy. This follows a similar center that we opened in Henrico, Va. Both of these are designed to reach our patients in the communities they live and create more access to our high-quality care.
In addition to investing in physical spaces, we’re also advancing our capabilities through significant investments in technology, particularly in robotics, where we continue to grow and lead in innovation. Right now, there are robotic surgical suites across several VCU Health locations, including the Short Pump Ambulatory Surgical Center. The robot at Short Pump ASC allows certain procedures to be performed safely in an outpatient environment and allows our patients to be treated closer to home.
Q: Have you had any obstacles with VCU’s ambulatory strategy, and how have you overcome them?
Bernadette Purser: We had to come together as a group. Sometimes ASCs end up on an island, but when you are a part of a university-based health system and partner with folks in the hospital, you see how it all works together within the same ecosystem. You know what you can do for each other, and then it becomes a system goal. You take care of the patient at the right location and use data to gauge progress. When you start to see that needle move, others see it too, and you build momentum — like a snowball. Then you’re really maximizing capacity and resources on both sides. It takes time and repetition, but once it catches, it’s powerful.
Q: How has data played a role in this transition, and what metrics have been useful for convincing people of the ASC’s value?
BP: Volume in the ASC space is a big one. We’re seeing it grow — we just hit a record number of cases this month. Another important metric is how many outpatient cases are being done in the hospital and going home the same day. We watch that percentage and review and discuss as a multidisciplinary team. Other key metrics are start and turnover times, utilization and patient experience.
Q: How integrated are ASCs into VCU Health, and what does that structure look like?
BP: That’s a great question, because that’s sometimes a mistake health systems make — treating an ASC like it’s completely separate. You have to remember the health system owns the ASC, so they have a vested interest in making sure all resources are optimized.
Ownership structure also matters. We’re wholly owned by the health system, but some centers are joint ventures.That affects how much you draw from the health system, but you should maximize all available resources you have.
