In a bid to be more efficient on one hand and reduce congestion on the other, the team at Bronson Healthcare has announced plans to develop a freestanding ambulatory surgery center to meet the growing volume of surgeries at Bronson Methodist Hospital.
Over the last five years, the number of surgeries performed at the hospital has increased 15-percent. The surgery center will be built on land Bronson owns at the northeast corner of I-94 and 9th Street in Texas Township east of Mattawan. The site is just off Beatrice Drive immediately adjacent to the Bronson Primary Care Partners office currently being constructed there. Pending requisite regulatory approvals, the $21 million project is expected to begin this spring and be completed by late 2021.
The new surgery center will serve patients who do not require hospitalization and for whom the expected duration of care is under 24 hours. The approximately 18,000 square foot facility will have four operating rooms dedicated to surgical procedures in the areas of:
- General orthopedics
- Total joint (hip & knee) replacement
- Neurosurgical and orthopedic spine, hand, and sports medicine
For the past few years, Bronson has been working with its surgical teams and with industry experts to assess how best to reduce wait times for surgical services at Bronson Methodist Hospital in Kalamazoo. By developing this ambulatory surgery center, approximately 5,400 orthopedic-related cases per year can be shifted from the hospital’s operating rooms. That will open up capacity and help reduce wait times for other procedures, including complex inpatient cases referred to the tertiary center from throughout the region.
John Jones, Jr., Bronson senior vice president for community care, says, “As the region’s leader in neurosciences, orthopedics and sports medicine, Bronson is dedicated to providing our physicians and staff with the tools and technologies needed to advance care and achieve excellent patient outcomes. We are equally committed to patient and family-centered care and the convenience and value associated with being able to safely and appropriately provide more surgical procedures in a lower cost environment.”
Freestanding surgery centers are a growing choice among consumers and health plans as they look for ways to get approved procedures done effectively at a lower cost. In addition to Bronson Methodist Hospital and Bronson Outpatient Surgery Center-Walnut Street in Kalamazoo, a wide range of inpatient and outpatient surgical procedures are also performed at Bronson Battle Creek Hospital and Bronson LakeView Hospital in Paw Paw.
The image showing placement of the new center accompanying this story on Moody on the Market is courtesy of Bronson Healthcare.
