ASC Transactions & Valuation Issues

The Tacoma (Wash.) Ambulatory Surgery Center is closing after 30 years, squeezed by competition from the city's two large health systems, according to a News Tribune report.

Hart Road Pain and Spine Institute has been approved by the Illinois Department of Public Health to open in Barrington, Ill., and see its first patient Oct. 2, 2012, according to a release.

Surgery Center of the Pacific and Surgery Center of Santa Monica have executed a letter of intent to combine operations and will provide outpatient surgical care from one location, under the Surgery of the Pacific name, by late 2012.

Sutter Medical Center will move 50 or so staff and physicians from Santa Rosa Surgery Center from their existing location to an 80,000-square-foot medical office building, according to a North Bay Business Journal report.

Billings (Mont.) VA Clinic has announced a new facility that will provide outpatient surgery and specialty services to an estimated 21,000 veterans, according to a KXLF report.

Rochester General Health System plans to develop an ambulatory surgery center, relocating a same-day surgery practice it purchased earlier and ambulatory surgery facilities from Rochester General Hospital, according to a Rochester Business Journal report.

An endoscopy clinic within the Saint Thomas Surgery Center Network is pursuing approval from the Tennessee Health Services and Development Agency to expand its offerings, according to a Tennessean report.

There are now 271 ambulatory surgery centers in the state of Pennsylvania — up from 72 in 200 — and ASC profit margins far outstrip those of general acute-care hospitals, according to a report from the Pennsylvania Health Care Cost…

Highmark, Pennsylvania's largest health insurer, recently gave West Penn Allegheny Health System $2 million to establish a network of medical buildings, which will include outpatient surgery spaces, according to a TribLIVE report.

Medical Facilities Corporation announced today that a cash dividend payment of CDN $0.09375 per common share will be payable on October 15, 2012, to holders of record of common shares at the close of business on September 28, 2012, according…