From unexpected opportunities and mentor guidance, three ASC leaders joined Becker’s to discuss how their careers steered them toward the outpatient surgery space.
Question: How did your career path lead you to the ASC space?
Editor’s note: These responses were edited lightly for clarity and length.
Leann Ackley. ASC Revenue Cycle Supervisor at Tampa (Fla.) General Hospital: I initially fell into the ASC space somewhat unexpectedly. When I joined my organization, I was responsible for managing the vendor performing professional billing. At the same time, our first ASC had just gone live on Epic. Since I was new to Epic, leadership decided it would be easier for me to learn the HB side rather than have my colleague, who had always worked on the PB side, make the transition. For a period, I managed both professional and ASC billing vendors. However, when we acquired our second ASC, it became clear that we needed someone dedicated solely to overseeing the ASCs revenue cycle. Today, we have three ASCs, and as our ambulatory footprint continues to grow, my role keeps evolving to meet the needs of this expanding area.
Adam Berry. CEO of Summit Orthopedics (Woodbury, Minn.): When I first started my career in a local hospital system, I had what I now call a pre-Galileo worldview — hospitals were the center of the universe, and everything in healthcare revolved around them. That’s simply how the industry was wired.
Fortunately, I had mentors who challenged that assumption. They pushed me to look toward the future — one defined by physician-led care, modern practice management and a decisive shift to outpatient environments. They were right.
Over the past 15 years as CEO of Summit Orthopedics, I’ve watched that prediction unfold in real time. When I stepped into the role in 2010, roughly 80% of surgical cases took place in a hospital. Today, with five premier ASCs, Summit performs 88% of our cases in our own facilities and just 12% in a hospital setting.
And the results speak for themselves: better patient experience, lower infection rates, and a more responsible total cost of care. What once orbited around hospitals now orbits around high-performing ASCs — and patients are better for it.
Kristy Murphy, RN. Director of Nursing at the Bone and Joint Surgery Center (Franklin, Tenn.): I transitioned to ASCs because I was seeking a setting with more predictable hours and less on-call responsibility. This allowed me to maintain the quality of care I’m committed to while achieving a healthier balance with my family life.
