Gary Kirsh, MD, spent most of his career in the urology space, starting as a practicing physician before co-founding Solaris Health, which he helped build into the largest urology-focused management services organization in the country.
As the new CEO of Cardiovascular Logistics, a cardiology MSO with a network of more than 400 providers across seven states, he’s bringing lessons learned while building Solaris Health to the cardiology industry.
What Solaris Health taught him
Dr. Kirsh’s practice management career started well before private equity entered the picture. In Cincinnati, he helped build a local urology practice into a market-dominant group with about 50 providers.
“In the course of my early experience before Solaris, I was passionate about the consolidation of facilities and building a real business out of a medical practice. We did that very successfully just on the local level,” Dr. Kirsh told Becker’s.
He described what he learned at Solaris in three parts: the M&A side, consolidation itself and financing. In 2025, Dublin, Ohio-based Cardinal Health acquired Solaris for nearly $2 billion in cash.
“Although I didn’t start out in this world, over many years, between local practice management and then the Solaris experience, I became pretty educated about financial markets as they relate to practice management structure, private equity firms and how to build a scalable business,” Dr. Kirsh said.
Where CVL’s growth is headed next
Cardiology and urology aren’t the same in terms of the consolidation landscape. However, the growth of cardiology procedures being performed in ASCs, along with increasing site-neutral payments, is providing opportunities for CVL to continue expanding its network with new partnerships and acquisitions.
“In terms of M&A goals, there are fewer groups to approach than in some other specialties, so you have to approach those that are out there and decide whether they are a good fit,” Dr. Kirsh said. “Are they in a good market? Do they have good cohesion? What services do they have now versus how can we help them gain services and increase their growth? All those things are a factor.”
On the organic side, Dr. Kirsh pointed to new imaging technology, the shift to outpatient care and clinical research as three drivers of growth for practices that are already part of the CVL network.
The next decade at CVL: From platform to patient care
Looking to the future, Dr. Kirsh described the same two-phase philosophy he said guided Solaris Health: use investor capital to aggregate independent practices, and spend the first five years turning that collection of practices into a real, culturally unified national business. He said that phase is still underway at CVL, which launched in 2023.
The second five years shifts the focus to patient care and clinical pathways, so that the organization can improve outcomes and decrease costs.
“The goal is to build cardiology centers of excellence that are independent of the brick-and-mortar constraints of hospitals and are outpatient focused,” Dr. Kirsh said. “First, put them in a business, and then run as hard as you can on improving care because that’s not only a great mission for America, but also a great mission for business.”
At the Becker’s 32nd Annual Meeting: The Business and Operations of ASCs, taking place October 29-31 in Chicago, ASC leaders, surgeons and healthcare executives will explore strategies to drive growth, enhance operational performance, navigate reimbursement challenges and prepare for the future of ambulatory surgery. Apply for complimentary registration now.
