ASC Association Update

ASC Association Update:
Q & A With Terry Hawes, President of the Washington Ambulatory Surgery Center Association (WASCA)

A: The first ASC in the state opened in Silverdale in 1977. The organization was started in 1981 as FASCAWS (Freestanding Ambulatory Surgery Center Association of Washington State). In 2006, we became WASCA (Washington Ambulatory Surgery Center Association).

A: We have 51 current active members.

A: We hold quarterly membership meetings, a bi-annual educational conference, and educational opportunities such as ASC coding, and certification and accreditation seminars.

A: Yes:

• We have worked closely with Washington State Labor and Industries regarding its ASC fee schedule 
• Currently, we are working to achieve political recognition 
• We are members of the Puget Sound Alliance 
• We are working towards transparency and becoming part of the solution to regional healthcare issues 
• In our re-organization, it is our intention to include physicians in our organization and have recruited three physicians to sit on the WASCA board of directors

A: Education for our members and non-members has always been our focus; our conferences and seminars are very well received. In addition, we sponsored a very successful fund raiser for Senator Karen Keiser, chair of the Senate Health and Long Term Care Committee, and co-sponsored an Emergency Preparedness Roundtable.

A: WASCA has a very hard-working board and committee chairpersons; our board and membership has always driven the association. We recently entered into a relationship with FASA, with our new executive director, Rob Schwartz. In this new relationship we are working to be recognized in Washington State politics and becoming recognized as a valid part of the healthcare solution in Washington State. With FASA’s leadership, WASCA is working to become recognized as a professional and effective organization.

WASCA Partners With Other Healthcare Organizations, Offers Advice on Emergency Preparedness

The Washington Ambulatory Surgery Center Association (WASCA) partnered with the Washington State Medical Association (WSMA) and the Washington State Hospital Association (WSHA) to host a “Roundtable on Emergency Preparedness,” featuring special guest speaker Robert Wise, MD, vice president of the Division of Standards and Survey Methods for the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO). The event, which was held Dec. 8, 2006, provided healthcare professionals throughout the state an inside view of a five-year study conducted by JCAHO.

The study discusses the impact of terrorist attacks and natural disasters on healthcare providers in the United States and offers recommendations and alternatives to improve practices during such times of crisis.

“We live in a different world and given 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina, we need to understand what we need to do to be better prepared,” Hugh Maloney, MD, president of the Washington State Medical Association, said in a press release.

Susan Simons, an ASC administrator and one of the co-chairs of the Roundtable commented, “JCAHO conducted a five-year study and we truly need to hear what they have learned. If we know anything, it’s that we still have a lot to do to be more prepared.”

Representative Eileen L. Cody (D-Wash.) and Senator Karen Keiser (D-Wash.) served as conveners of the meeting.