Celebrating Teamwork in This Year's Who's Who Issue

It has been eight years since we first launched our annual Who’s Who in Ambulatory Surgery issue, and in doing so we have introduced you to individuals and facilities that are outstanding in our industry, as nominated by SurgiStrategies readers. It has always been a nice way to end the calendar year on a positive note, and to acknowledge the individuals who have devoted so much of their time and energy to delivering exceptional patient care. But one facility really stood out for not only serving its patients, but the larger community in many unique ways. The ASC of Union County in Union, N.J. is a stand-out for several reasons. First, it has one of the most enthusiastic, committed groups of people I have ever seen at work in an ASC to date. Second, the facility itself is in a political hotbed. As you may know, New Jersey is ground zero for the fall-out produced by the March 2009 amendment to the Codey Act, which is the self-referral law/anti-kickback statute in that state. The legislation has placed a freeze on new ASCs, with just a few exceptions; has prohibited indirect referrals from physician owners to their ASCs; and has required accreditation for all ASCs. We’ll introduce you to Marcy Sasso, administrator of the ASC of Union County, who has been championing ASC issues in her state for a long time. You’ll also meet her colleagues, Debbi Holley and Glenn Davison, and the rest of the team, starting on page 8. And we introduce this year’s Who’s Who roster beginning on page 16.

I also wanted to take this opportunity to tell you about an online conference being hosted by one of our other publications in our medical publishing group, Infection Control Today, which offers terrific education for ASCs and surgical hospitals from an infection prevention point of view. The fourth annual ICT Conference on Professional Development, to be held Feb. 9-10, 2010, is designed for individuals charged with advancing infection prevention and control principles and practices in their healthcare facilities. Check out this dynamic virtual event, which can be accessed from the comfort and convenience of your office or home, at www.ictconference.com. See you in cyberspace!