Inaugural today’s surgicenter conference Attracts More Than 160 Ambulatory Surgery Center Professionals

LAS VEGAS – Ambulatory surgery center owners, operators and investors attended two days of seminars, networking events and exhibits at the first today’s surgicenter conference held at The Venetian and The Sands Expo, Oct. 1-2, 2004.  The conference was produced by Virgo Publishing, publishers of today’s surgicenter magazine, and developed with Stryker Corporation. 

“We see a lot of industry conferences addressing clinical solutions for ASCs, this is the first to drill down on business solutions for executives in this arena. The combination of informative seminars, exhibits with an array of products and services and networking opportunities offered one-stop shopping for attendees,” said Peggy Jackson, director of publishing for Virgo's Health & Nutrition Division. "We have been publishing today’s surgicenter magazine since 2002, so moving into the conference arena with this angle was a perfect fit.”  

"The main goal that we strove for at this conference was to give attendees a single, concise source for the latest ASC-related information," says Joe Delligatti, director of new business development for Stryker Corp. "The comments from many of the attendees clearly indicated that we achieved this goal. Numerous people told me that they were impressed with the completeness of the agenda. Others wanted to know, 'Where were you five years ago?'"

The conference kicked off with a general session, “Legal and Regulatory Issues,” moderated by Delligatti. Participants then had the choice to attend a track of seminars designed for start-up facilities or existing facilities.  Topics ranged from feasibility analysis and design/construction to equipment financing and investigating the benefits of a management company.

Participants returned to the general session room for lunch and a vendor presentation on “Ambulatory Surgery: Current and Future Challenges” given by Tom Yerden, MHA, president and CEO of Aspen Healthcare.  Exhibits began shortly after and participants had the opportunity to meet with more than 25 exhibiting companies. 

Concurrent seminars resumed in the afternoon until participants came together for a general session, “Organizing an ASC from a Physician’s Perspective,” presented by Kyle Hrdlicka, DO, chairman of the board of North Park Surgery Center, Brian Cambell, senior vice president of development and operations for Alliance Surgery, and Lorin Patterson, a partner at Shook, Hardy & Bacon, LLP. Friday evening concluded with a reception and exhibits. Participants enjoyed cocktails and hors d’oeuvres while mingling with peers and exhibitors. 

Carol Poindexter, JD, from Shook, Hardy and Bacon LLP, presented the general session on “Stark 101: What you Really Need to Know About the Law When Developing Your Center” Sat., Oct. 2. Participants attended three more breakout seminars before returning for the conference wrap-up, lunch and exhibits.  During the lunch, Derril W. Reeves, executive vice president of development of Surgis Inc. gave a vendor presentation on “Forging Surgery Center Partnerships that Will Last.”

“I received a flier for this conference on my desktop after a very painful meeting; if we had known [earlier] what we know today, we would have been in business by now," said attendee Dr. Jacob George from Clovis, N.M., who has been working on developing an ambulatory surgery center for five years.

"I have been to a zillion conferences over the past 25 years. I thought this conference was a very well-done event,” said Paul Bryant, business manager of Lahonton Valley Surgical Associates. “The content was just excellent, the meeting rooms were perfect, the vendor participation was informative and the speakers were discussing timely subjects with expert backgrounds -- who could ask for anything more?"

The Health & Nutrition Division of Virgo Publishing Inc. publishes today’s surgicenter, ICT: Infection Control Today and EndoNurse medical magazines and produces the today’s surgicenter conference. Other publications and events produced by the group include: Natural Products Industry INSIDER and HSR: Health Supplement Retailer magazines; SupplySide East and West trade shows and conferences; and Focus on the Future Executive Conference and Retreat.