By Shelby Grebbin, ASC News
Atlas Healthcare Partners, a national developer and manager of ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs), has announced a strategic joint venture with MultiCare Health System, a large not-for-profit health care organization based in Washington.
The JV aims to enhance access to high-quality, affordable outpatient surgical services throughout the Pacific Northwest, CEO Aric Burke told ASC News, adding that Atlas plans to develop cardiovascular-focused and GI-focused ASCs with MultiCare, as well as more general practice ASCs.
The JV came together after MultiCare was looking for an ASC partner to help it expand in its markets, Burke said.
MultiCare currently operates 12 hospitals and employs over 22,000 people across the Pacific Northwest, providing a range of health care services, including hospital care, primary care, specialty services, emergency care and ambulatory services.
“[MultiCare] ultimately determined that they needed an ASC strategy for their market, which is really the state of Washington, primarily focused on Tacoma, Seattle, Yakima and Spokane as their primary markets,” Burke said. “They are also interested in expanding their network into Oregon, Idaho and potentially Alaska. So it’s ultimately a Pacific Northwest strategy for them.”
On its end, Atlas works with health systems on front-end strategies to determine what type of ASC network operators need in terms of where to locate the surgery centers, Burke said.
“The ultimate goal is to provide access to their patients to ASCs that can provide all types of different services in the right locations, high quality, and more affordable than having the care in the hospital setting,” he said.
Atlas also provides comprehensive management services for these centers and collaborates with physicians to invest in them, Burke said, and has three current partnerships.
The first partnership with Banner Health was formed in 2019, resulting in 30 surgery centers in Arizona and Colorado. In 2022, Atlas formed a joint venture with Corewell Health, establishing four ASCs in Michigan, with more under development.
In addition to MultiCare, Burke hinted at a fourth partnership to be announced in a couple of weeks.
“We’ve got numerous projects that are being developed, including projects that are approved or in the process of being approved for certificates of need across the state,” he said. “Additionally, we’re looking to acquire existing surgery centers with physician partners.”
Increasing demand from health systems to develop an ASC strategy is due to a shift in care from hospitals to surgery centers, Burke said.
Health systems want to control this shift and be involved in the development and management of the ASC network, he added.
“They are looking to form, in many cases, joint ventures with management companies that bring the expertise and resources to help them with the strategy, development and management of the network,” he said. “We are engaged in quite a few conversations across the country to help health systems through that process and form joint ventures. The demand for joint ventures is definitely increasing, and [that] will continue until the health systems all have their strategy in place. From there, I think there will be a lot of activity in terms of further ASC development.”
Acquiring an existing center with a certificate of need is preferred because it simplifies and accelerates the process, Burke said. When building a network strategy, Atlas prioritizes available market acquisitions due to the speed-to-market advantage and alignment with physicians.
“But there are times when we need to build new centers, and it takes longer,” he said. “Construction in general takes a while, but then on the front end, the certificate of need adds additional time. There’s a benefit of working with the health systems, though, because they are really focused on shifting care out of the hospital setting for capacity and cost reasons, and that does make the certificate-of-need process a lot easier.”
Indeed, in both Washington and Michigan, where Atlas is expanding, a certificate of need is required to build a new ASC.
“We work closely with the health system and others to kind of navigate that process and ensure that we get approval,” Burke said.
“We view ASCs as part of a much bigger delivery network of care. It’s important to have that site of service as part of their network,” he continued. “The other unique thing about Atlas is that our health system partners are also invested in Atlas as a company. There’s a lot of alignment between Atlas and the health systems at the management company level, the joint venture level and the ASC level, which brings many benefits to everyone.”
Dr. Mark Mariani, vice president of MultiCare Surgery Centers, described ASCs as “essential” to the health system’s mission.
“We are committed to maintaining and expanding access to surgical care in the region with an outstanding partner that helps us deliver on our vision and mission,” Mariani said in a press release. “Partnering with Atlas provides the team and expertise to develop, manage and scale our ASC network quickly and effectively.”
