ChristianaCare, Atlas plan to build ambulatory surgery centers in mid-Atlantic

More patients are opting for outpatient procedures, and ChristianaCare is moving ahead with a partnership to offer patients more options.

ChristianaCare and Atlas Healthcare Partners have announced plans to build a network of ambulatory surgery centers in Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania.

ChristianaCare and Atlas Healthcare Partners recently announced plans to build a network of ambulatory surgery centers in the mid-Atlantic region. The organizations said it would be looking to build the outpatient facilities in Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

Jennifer Schwartz, chief strategy officer at ChristianaCare, said in a statement that the goal is to offer patients more convenient and cost-effective options.

“Ambulatory surgery centers are an increasingly important part of the healthcare ecosystem, especially as advances in science and technology are enabling more and more procedures to be done safely in an outpatient setting,” Schwartz said in a statement.

A ChristianaCare spokesperson said the number and locations of the facilities has yet to be determined. There is no planned timetable for the facilities.

Atlas Healthcare Partners has partnered with other hospital systems to develop ambulatory surgery centers.

In the joint venture with ChristianaCare, the partnership will be managed by a board that will include representatives from both organizations. ChristianaCare will hold a majority ownership stake in the joint venture and hold a majority of seats on the board, according to a spokesperson for the system.

Aric Burke, president and CEO of Atlas, said the joint venture is aimed at meeting patient preferences.

“As care continues to shift from inpatient to outpatient settings, this joint venture will enable ChristianaCare to rapidly expand access to high-quality, affordable care across the mid-Atlantic region,” Burke said in a statement.

In July, Atlas announced a joint venture with the MultiCare health system to build ambulatory surgery centers in the Pacific Northwest. MultiCare, based in Washington state, operates 12 hospitals.

In 2022, Atlas formed a joint venture with Corewell Health, the Michigan-based system, to develop ambulatory surgery centers. Atlas partnered with Banner Health in 2018 to operate ambulatory surgery centers in Arizona, Colorado and Wyoming.

Based in Wilmington, Del., ChristinaCare operates three hospitals and a host of other primary care and outpatient facilities.

With more patients opting for surgical options that don’t necessitate an overnight hospital stay, health systems need to be investing in outpatient facilities, analysts say.

Erik Swanson, senior vice president at Kaufman Hall, told Chief Healthcare Executive® in a recent interview that hospitals that have invested more in outpatient capabilities are often seeing stronger financial performance than other systems. The outpatient area is where “organizations accrete margin,” he said.

“Outpatient is a critical component for hospitals for long-term profitability and operations,” Swanson says. “It is also an area where there is risk, both from external market disruptors. And if an organization does not have that capability today, they're at risk of falling behind those that do.”

In another indication of the growing popularity of outpatient facilities, U.S. News & World Report offered its first ratings of ambulatory surgery centers in May.

More than half of the surgeries performed nationwide occur in outpatient settings, according to federal data from the Agency for Healthcare Research & Quality.