Administrator to Know: Rosemary Lambie of SurgiCenter of Baltimore

Rosemary Lambie, RN, MEd, CNOR (SurgiCenter of Baltimore, Ownings Mills, Md.). Ms. Lambie is the administrator at the SurgiCenter of Baltimore, located in Owings Mills, Md. The center opened June 1989. It has five operating rooms and two procedure rooms, and, according to Ms. Lambie, is expected to perform 4,500 cases this year.

Ms. Lambie has been with the SurgiCenter of Baltimore for 16 years, starting out as the director of surgical services and then moving into the role of administrator three years ago. She has been a perioperative nurse for the past 35 years and began her career as a staff nurse in an inpatient OR, moving up to become the head nurse of a hospital OR.  Prior to coming to SurgiCenter of Baltimore, she was the head nurse of a 20-room OR in a regional medical center in Baltimore.

The ability to provide quality care while staying efficient and cost effective is what Ms. Lambie believes is the key to her center's success. She also notes that the center has been able to add new procedures and revitalize specialties by embracing new technology.

As an effort to help staff members remained invested in the success of the center, Ms. Lambie and her team developed an employee incentive bonus program in 2006. "It enables the staff to earn bonuses based on meeting certain operational targets," she says. "This program allows the staff to reap the benefits of the center's profitability thereby providing them with a real sense of ownership in the facility."

Ms. Lambie says that one aspect of the ASC which is critical to the overall quality of patient care is the staff. "We are blessed with the best and brightest medical and nursing staff in the area," she says. Additionally, she notes her center experiences very low turnover rates. "The average tenure among the staff is 11 years. In fact, five of my staff are celebrating their 20th anniversary this year along with the center," she says.

Ms. Lambie also understands and has experienced challenges an ASC faces when it runs into tough financial obstacles. "Success is not always easily achieved," she says. "Over the course of the past 20 years, we have had to make some difficult decisions including downsizing when volumes shifted."

In spite of some difficult decisions she has had to make, Ms. Lambie enjoys her job, especially her involvement in both the clinical and business aspects of the center. "I am actively involved in the decision making process and have the support of my corporate and physician investors," she says. "As compared to leadership role in a hospital setting, there is much more autonomy and trust for leadership in an ASC setting."

To see the list of all 50 Administrators to Know, click here.