cal procedures a year, we partnered in 2017 with Mercy Health
Systems on the west side of Cincinnati.
We opened a new facility in Middletown, Ohio, last year. We took
over what had been a failing multi-specialty ASC, signed a long-term
lease, hired staff, bought equipment and turned it into an ophthalmic-
only ASC with 3 ORs. At Middletown, we have the staff and equipment
to handle just about everything: cornea transplants, cataracts, retina,
glaucoma and ocular plastics all in the same facility. Because cataracts
are ophthalmology's bread and butter, we're set up to handle them in
all 3 operating rooms.
The best advice I can give anyone planning to develop a new oph-
thalmic surgery center is to find a partner, somebody who has done it
before, who knows the questions to ask, and who can help guide you
through the process. It's a daunting task, so it makes sense to talk to
architects and consultants who have intimate knowledge of surgery
center flow.
Sweat the small stuff and you'll have less big stuff to sweat later.
OSM
M A R C H 2 0 1 8 • O U T PA T I E N T S U R G E R Y. N E T • 2 9
Mr. Albertz (talbertz@cincinnatieye.com) is the vice president of Surgical
Services at the Cincinnati (Ohio) Eye Institute.
