10 ASC Industry Leaders to Know

From Becker's ASC Review

Written by Rachel Fields | June 02, 2012


Here are 10 profiles of notable leaders in the ambulatory surgery center industry. 

1. Dr. Stephen Hochschuler of the Texas Back Institute. Stephen Hochschuler, MD, is co-founder of the Texas Back Institute in Plano, which began in 1977 in partnership with Ralph Rashbaum, MD. Their joint vision for the institute was to create "an integrated multispecialty spinal clinic that included prevention, conservative care, surgical care, rehabilitation and research and development." Thirty-five years later, the center is heralded as one of the premier organizations for spine healthcare, becoming the first institution in the United States to prescribe outpatient myelography and the first to lead an FDA study of the artificial disc and artificial disc replacement.

2. Barry Tanner, CEO of Physicians Endoscopy. Mr. Tanner joined Physicians Endoscopy in 1999 and co-authored the company's business plan with CFO Karen Sablyak. He currently oversees the company's partnership development activities, as well as strategic direction and services management. He also helps in the day-to-day management and governance of some of Physician Endoscopy's partnered facilities. Before joining PE, Mr. Tanner served as CFO of Navis Radiology Systems, a physician practice management company in Miami. As the co-founder and CFO, he was responsible for developing a business plan. He helped grow the company from zero to over $75 million in revenues during his time as CFO, including the acquisition of seven professional radiology practices and a major diagnostics company.

3. Dr. Kenneth Pettine of Loveland Surgery Center. Kenneth Pettine, MD, is a spine surgeon and the founder of the Spine Institute and Loveland (Colo.) Surgery Center and Rocky Mountain Associates in Orthopedic Medicine. Dr. Pettine is board certified and a member of the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons, the North American Spine Society and the Arthroscopy Association of North America. He received his fellowship training at the Institute for Low Back Care in Minneapolis, completed his residency and his master's degree in orthopedic surgery at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., and was awarded his MD from the University of Colorado School of Medicine.

4. Michel Kulcyzcki of The Joint Commission. As executive director for The Joint Commission's Ambulatory Care Accreditation Program, Mr. Kulczycki is responsible for overseeing the strategy and business development for the Ambulatory Care Accreditation Program. Prior to joining The Joint Commission in 2002, Mr. Kulczycki served as principal officer at Oak Park, Ill.-based M.Carl Enterprises, a provider of management consultant services to non-profit organizations. He also served as president and CEO of The Alliance for Healthcare Strategy and Marketing in Chicago for two years and as executive director of the Illinois Home Care Council, also in Chicago, for seven years.

5. Brent Ashby, administrator of Audubon Surgery Center. Brent Ashby is the administrator of two surgery centers — Audubon Surgery Center and Audubon ASC at St. Francis, both located in Colorado Springs, Colo. The two Audubon centers contain 15 operating rooms and four procedure rooms between them and perform an estimated 19,000 cases annually. Mr. Ashby has led the surgery centers through several successful initiatives, including a staff profit-sharing program and a boycott of payors who are unwilling to offer reasonable payment rates. He said the physicians in his centers are highly involved and offer their support during difficult administrative decisions.

6. Dr. John Cherf of Vanguard Chicago Center for Orthopedics. John Cherf, MD, an orthopedic surgeon, is the president of the Chicago Institute of Orthopedics, president of OrthoIndex and clinical advisor to Sg2, a healthcare intelligence and information services company. Dr. Cherf, who has more than 20 years of clinical experience in orthopedics and sports medicine, completed his medical education at Northwestern University in Chicago, where he also obtained a Masters in Public Health and Masters in Business Administration. He also completed his internship and residency at Northwestern and then completed a fellowship in sports medicine and knee surgery at The Orthopedic Specialty Hospital/Sports Medicine West in Salt Lake City. 

7. Dr. Joseph Banno, founder of Peroria Day Surgery Center. Joseph Banno, MD, founder of the successful Peoria (Ill.) Day Surgery Center and past ASC chairman, is committed to providing quality healthcare all over the world. He helped pioneer the development of the world's first mobile ASC, a self-contained surgery unit that allows physicians to provide medical and surgical treatment in remote areas of the world. The unit can provide "rural outreach, hospital renovation replacement facility, international health care delivery, mobile intensive care, mobile dialysis" and a variety of other services, Dr. Banno said in an interview with Peoria Magazine.

8. Luke Lambert, CEO of ASCOA. Luke Lambert became CFO of Ambulatory Surgery Centers of America in 1997 and was promoted to CEO of the company five years later. He previously held positions at Smith Barney, Booz, Allen & Hamilton and Ernst & Young. His background includes experience in finance, strategy and operations and he has worked in venture exploration and reengineering business processes. Mr. Lambert was one of the founding members of ASCOA, an ASC management and development company that has started or turned around more than 60 projects in the United States. Within ASCOA’s management model, surgeons maintain the majority ownership of the center while the company holds a minority share in each center it turns around or develops.

9. Joe Zasa, co-founder of ASD Management. As the co-founder and managing partner of ASD Management, Joe Zasa focuses on turning around existing surgery centers and helping physicians and hospitals develop new ASCs. An expert in surgery center profitability, Mr. Zasa is keenly aware of some of the ways ASCs fail: by failing to look at case costs, letting supply expenses run out of control and depending on poor payor contracts. Prior to founding ASD Management, formerly Woodrum ASD, Mr. Zasa served as corporate counsel for Premier Ambulatory Systems, where he was responsible for acquisitions and physician development. He also served as regional director of surgery operations for ProSurg, a division of American Ophthalmic.

10. Alfred McNair, MD, founder of Digestive Health Center. Alfred McNair, MD, a gastroenterologist, founded the Digestive Health Center in 1980 on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, where he has been practicing ever since. He sees patients at four different offices in the area and performs colonoscopies, esophagogastrodeudenoscopies and Enterynx. He also has a special focus on liver disease and hepatitis illness. Dr. McNair earned his medical degree at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York City and completed his residency at New York Presbyterian Hospital. His additional training includes a fellowship at Stanford University in Palo Alto, Calif.