New ASC Development

UP Health System—Marquette (Mich.) held a ribbon-cutting for its new medical office building, according to a Nov. 7 report from TV6. 

The Homewood (Ala.) Planning Commission recommended approval of Andrews Sports Medicine and Orthopedic Center's proposal to develop an ASC, according to a Nov. 6 report by Construction Review.

Plans for a free-standing ASC in St. Augustine, Fla., are under review, according to a Nov. 6 report by the Jacksonville Daily Record.

The Health Care Authority of the City of Hoover (Ala.) was issued its certificate of need for the Riverwalk Health and Wellness Center after being given initial approval in August, ABC News 3340 reported Nov. 5. 

Atlanta-based Emory Healthcare has opened an outpatient and imaging facility in Dunwoody, Ga. 

Adventist Health Lodi (Calif.) Memorial Hospital Foundation has purchased the Lodi Outpatient Surgery Center and added it to its network after years of leasing the center from local physicians, according to a Nov. 2 Lodi News-Sentinel report. 

Certificate-of-need laws require healthcare systems or providers to receive special approval  from the state before expanding or building a new facility, and they vary by state. 

Here are 15 ASCs that were opened or announced in the last month, as reported by Becker's:

ASCs are experiencing a development boom in the Sun Belt, a region that spans the Southeastern and Southwestern United States. The trend is being driven by demographic shifts, increased healthcare spending and regulatory factors.

Arjun Gangakhedkar, real estate and financial specialist for the recently formed ASC chain Ker Medical and principal at QHM Partners, joined Becker's to discuss two major risks to ASC real estate development.