Envision Healthcare’s Inaugural Clinical Impact Report Details High-Quality Patient Care Initiatives

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NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Envision Healthcare, a leading national medical group, today released its 2021 Clinical Impact Report, highlighting its impact on patients’ lives and communities across the country last year. The full report is available at EnvisionHealth.com/Impact-Report.

“In 2021, we remained on the frontlines for patients, exceeding national care quality benchmarks and implementing new programs that improve patients’ access to the right care at the right time,” said Jim Rechtin, Chief Executive Officer of Envision Healthcare. “We also made strides in enhancing our Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and Clinician Wellness programs. While there is no way to measure the true impact the Envision team has had on the millions of people we serve, this inaugural report provides a snapshot of the many ways we make a difference.”

Envision’s 2021 Clinical Impact Report demonstrates how Envision is providing care when and where it’s needed most. Last year, the Envision team rose to the many unique demands for care and drove positive changes within the U.S. healthcare system. Grounded in its commitment to delivering high-quality, patient-centered care, the team continued combating the COVID-19 pandemic, responded to natural disasters and humanitarian crises and advanced innovative care approaches.

Envision remains focused on elevating the voices of clinicians and patients and championing solutions that improve the healthcare system for everyone. As the medical group moves forward in 2022, it will continue protecting the patient-clinician relationship, caring deeply for everyone and centering its actions on advancing the delivery of safe, quality care.

Making a Positive Impact
From providing lifesaving care to preventing colon cancer to welcoming newborns into the world, Envision is uniquely positioned to have a positive impact on millions of people in the U.S. In 2021, Envision’s 30,000 clinical and clinical support teammates and 4,000 ambulatory surgery center physician partners cared for America through millions of visits, including:

  • 30 million patient encounters
  • 16 million emergency department visits
  • 9 million radiology reads
  • 6 million anesthesia cases
  • 900,000 colonoscopies
  • 180,000 cataract surgeries
  • 132,000 newborn deliveries supported

Caring for Communities
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the medical group has helped lead the nation’s COVID-19 response, caring for patients and working to mitigate the spread of the virus. More than 500 Envision clinicians have traveled to hard-hit communities to provide lifesaving care and relief since the beginning of the pandemic. In 2021, Envision clinicians treated more than 3.4 million COVID-19 patients through emergency department and inpatient visits, including in the intensive care unit. Clinicians also administered COVID-19 tests and vaccines to first responders and community members. Envision continues to educate the public about the importance of getting vaccinated, leading by example through its commitment to having a fully vaccinated team.

Through its disaster response program and years of expertise responding to crises, Envision teams are helping community members navigate some of the nation’s most challenging times. In 2021, Envision clinicians cared for more than 5,000 Afghan refugees for five months until they were resettled and had the resources needed to begin their new lives in the U.S. Teammates also supported communities during the deep freeze in Texas, Hurricane Ida in Louisiana, the tornadoes in the Midwest and the Marshall Fire in Colorado.

Providing Safe, High-Quality, Patient-Centered Care
Through Envision’s commitment to a culture of safety, clinicians are continuously evaluating clinical protocols and developing best practices to enhance patient outcomes and satisfaction. Envision operates one of 94 Patient Safety Organizations listed by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services division, which helps improve the quality and safety of patient care. Through the Physicians Quality Registry, a Qualified Clinical Data Registry approved by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Envision is one of the largest submitters of performance data to Medicare and is helping define the quality of care nationally.

Last year, Envision clinicians developed one new Merit-Based Incentive Payment System measure. Clinicians also exceeded several national quality benchmarks, including measures regarding sepsis, non-opioid pain therapy and the care of babies born weighing less than 1,500 grams.

Empowering Teammates to Thrive
Envision is focused on caring for the people who care for America. In 2021, the medical group remained steadfast in its efforts to prioritize the health of its teams through its comprehensive Clinician Wellness program, which includes free mental health services, peer-to-peer support, crisis debriefs and leadership coaching. Envision also advocated for the Dr. Lorna Breen Healthcare Provider Act – a bipartisan bill designed to help change the culture and conditions that lead to burnout and eliminate the stigma that deters healthcare professionals from seeking mental healthcare.

Last year, Envision continued advancing its Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) program, raising awareness and providing teammates with educational opportunities and resources to support DEI. As a medical group caring for communities that reflect the country’s racial, ethnic, sexual orientation and economic diversity, Envision recognizes its responsibility to create a more just and inclusive society.

To download and read the report, visit EnvisionHealth.com/Impact-Report.

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About Envision Healthcare Corporation
Envision Healthcare Corporation is a leading national medical group that delivers physician and advanced practice provider services, primarily in the areas of emergency and hospitalist medicine, anesthesiology, radiology/teleradiology, and neonatology to more than 1,800 clinical departments in healthcare facilities in 45 states and the District of Columbia. Post-acute care is delivered through an array of clinical professionals and integrated technologies which, when combined, contribute to efficient and effective population health management strategies. As a leader in ambulatory surgical care, AMSURG holds ownership in more than 250 surgery centers in 34 states and the District of Columbia, with medical specialties ranging from gastroenterology to ophthalmology and orthopedics. In total, the medical group offers a differentiated suite of clinical solutions on a national scale with a local understanding of our communities, creating value for health systems, payers, providers, and patients. For additional information, visit www.envisionhealth.com.

Envision Healthcare Shares Resources to Support Clinician Mental Health

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National Medical Group Uses Systematic Professional Well-Being Approach to Support Clinicians’ Wellness

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Envision Healthcare, a leading national medical group, is providing best practices on how to improve the professional well-being of clinicians and mitigate burnout. To help the more than 50 percent of clinicians who experience symptoms of burnout,[1] Envision is sharing its mental health resources with the entire medical community.

Throughout the pandemic, clinicians have dealt with similar life stressors that everyone is facing – illness and death of loved ones, child-rearing responsibilities and overall uncertainty – compounded by the trauma and fatigue of fighting a deadly disease for more than 18 months. The post-traumatic stress of the pandemic has and will continue to impact clinicians in the months and years to come.

To help clinicians navigate the many challenges they face in the U.S. healthcare system, Envision has enhanced the wellness resources it provides clinicians and efforts to reduce stigma around mental health, including:

  • Advocating for the Dr. Lorna Breen Health Care Provider Protection Act and public policy changes to promote the study of professional mental, behavioral health and burnout among healthcare professionals
  • Providing additional crisis peer support and free mental health support services to clinicians as they continue to care for critically ill COVID-19 patients
  • Enhancing its wellness program to address the psychological and emotional needs of clinicians, including peer-to-peer support, leadership training and counseling

“As a national medical group, it is a core tenet of our mission to care for and foster an environment that supports the professional well-being of clinicians; however, clinician well-being can’t solely focus on the individual – it must encompass personal, organizational, healthcare system and policy interventions,” said Stefanie Simmons, MD, FACEP, Vice President of Clinician Engagement at Envision Healthcare. “We must ensure all clinicians have the resources necessary to support their mental health and well-being. Clinicians are there when we need them most – we must be there for them.”

To further support clinician well-being, Envision supports organizational and healthcare system policy improvements, such as improving practice schedule flexibility, reforming tort laws and providing student loan relief. While individual well-being and resiliency are important, addressing professional well-being as a systemic issue that is actionable will lead to positive, lasting change.

Read the full clinician professional well-being white paper here.

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About Envision Healthcare Corporation
Envision Healthcare Corporation is a leading national medical group that delivers physician and advanced practice provider services, primarily in the areas of emergency and hospitalist medicine, anesthesiology, radiology/teleradiology, and neonatology to more than 1,800 clinical departments in healthcare facilities in 45 states and the District of Columbia. Post-acute care is delivered through an array of clinical professionals and integrated technologies which, when combined, contribute to efficient and effective population health management strategies. As a market leader in ambulatory surgical care, the medical group owns and operates 255 surgery centers in 34 states and the District of Columbia, with medical specialties ranging from gastroenterology to ophthalmology and orthopedics. In total, the medical group offers a differentiated suite of clinical solutions on a national scale with a local understanding of our communities, creating value for health systems, payers, providers, and patients. For additional information, visit www.envisionhealth.com.

[1] National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2019. Taking Action Against Clinician Burnout: A Systems Approach to Professional Well-Being. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/25521

Introducing The SURG Videocast: Watch the First Episode Today

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AMSURG is excited to announce the launch of a new videocast, The Surg. Each month, we will host an ambulatory surgery center (ASC) physician partner to discuss clinical hot topics. Are there pros and cons to pre-procedure testing? What are safe turnaround times in an era of COVID-19? How should you prepare for flu season amidst COVID-19? We’ll answer those questions, and more, as we seek to be a resource for research and best practices, and a voice for our ambulatory surgery centers.

Episode 1

Envision Healthcare Chief Medical Officer and AMSURG Interim President Chan Chuang, M.D., hosts the first episode of The Surg, which you can watch here.

In the episode, Dr. Chuang and Erick Pecha, M.D., a gastroenterologist and founding physician partner with Folsom Sierra Endoscopy Center in California and president of the Gastroenterology Medical Clinic in Folsom, together tackle questions about COVID testing times, surgery center workflow, getting through state inspections, and best practices for increasing capacity while enhancing safety.

One bright spot Dr. Pecha identifies: though patients are somewhat anxious about safety, no-show rates are down from the pre-COVID era. One reason for that is the pre-procedure planning process. “Once you set up the program … and you explain to your patients that our goal is to create a sphere of safety for them that is better than their local grocery store, there has been quite easy adoption by the patients in terms of their compliance.”

Share Your Feedback

As with all of our communications, we welcome your feedback. After viewing The Surg, please take a moment to complete this survey.

Short Hills Surgery Center Shows Flexibility During COVID-19, Serves Community Need

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As COVID-19 continues to disrupt America’s healthcare system, AMSURG’s ASC partners have displayed remarkable flexibility and ambition in augmenting the capabilities of their centers to help stabilize their communities and keep patients safe. At Short Hills Surgery Center (SHSC) in Millburn, New Jersey, strategic efforts made by administrative, physician and AMSURG leadership helped to quickly serve the community’s need while maintaining the viability of the ASC.

The response to learning of the infectious nature of COVID-19 was one of immediate action. SHSC leadership immediately canceled scheduled patients at high risk of infection, limited the center’s operating days, and took steps to prepare for overflow relief from hospitals around the community.

To minimize the possibility of cross-infection exposure to a COVID-19-positive person and risk the closure of the ASC, staff was divided into teams assigned to work on different days. Communication was sent to all members of the medical staff to advise them of the new protocols and to provide them with a status update on the center’s operations.

SHSC’s medical director reached out to medical leadership at SHSC’s health system partner, RWJ Barnabas Health, offering the center as a “relief valve” for patients within the health system requiring urgent surgery that could not be managed by their hospitals. After being welcomed by the health system, SHSC administration quickly sprang into action to identify which additional surgical cases could be handled from the hospital and to procure the resources needed to expand their scope of service.

SHSC has also implemented rigorous safety protocols to further protect the safety of staff and patients from COVID-19 exposure.

This incredible response by SHSC exemplifies the agility and thoughtfulness required across the healthcare industry to appropriately address the COVID-19 pandemic and respond to community need. While there are no one-size-fits-all solutions for an unprecedented crisis such as this, AMSURG is committed to helping our ASC partners develop and implement solutions that work to protect their patients and clinicians while ensuring the viability of their center and its essential role in the community.

To learn more about the work AMSURG is doing in collaboration with our ASC partners, visit our COVID-19 landing page.

BOSS Fills Community Need Through Center Reallocation

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As the COVID-19 crisis continues to evolve, AMSURG’s centers are responding with ingenuity and are meeting the needs in their communities to support long-term population health. At Boston Out-Patient Surgical Suites (BOSS) in Waltham, Massachusetts, that meant adapting their facility to assist local hospitals in the effort to protect patients and clinicians.

Through the leadership and guidance of Center Leader Greg Deconciliis, BOSS transitioned their center to support COVID-19 relief efforts in their local community. Coordinating with local hospitals, BOSS converted their physician offices to “urgent-care” settings, whereby physicians could see patients through both telehealth and in-person visits and would be able to streamline their surgical care in the operating rooms upstairs in a COVID-19-free setting.

The center also provided outreach to the director of surgery at a local acute care hospital through BOSS’s general surgeon, offering a streamlined process to move patients from the emergency department to BOSS to offload the hospital’s workflow and resources. These strategic moves helped establish a stronger local healthcare safety net by managing the resources necessary to respond to patient needs and keep clinicians safe.

Protecting Patients and Staff

We appreciate BOSS’s thoughtful response to the COVID-19 crisis, which has helped safeguard its viability while protecting patients, clinicians and communities.

AMSURG is committed to serving our centers and communities during this unprecedented time and in preparation for its aftermath. In collaboration with our ASC partners, our Flex Operational Plan is ready to help centers reallocate resources to ensure our local communities stay safe. To learn more about AMSURG’s COVID-19 response efforts, visit our COVID-19 page.

AMSURG Joins in the 80% in Every Community Colorectal Cancer Screening Initiative

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AMSURG has joined in the national initiative with the Colorectal Cancer Roundtable to increase awareness of colon cancer and to work to ensure that 80% of adults take advantage of potentially life-saving colorectal cancer screening. AMSURG is a leader in ambulatory surgery center management and partners with more than 160 endoscopy centers. In 2019, our centers performed more than 600,000 colonoscopies, responding to the increase in cancer-related deaths among people.

By joining the 80% in Every Community effort, AMSURG pledges our resources and time to make certain that every community we serve benefits from increased colorectal cancer screening rates. Colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of cancer deaths in the U.S., when men and women are combined, and causes considerable suffering among more than 145,000 adults diagnosed with colorectal cancer each year. Additionally, over 50,000 people are expected to die from the disease this year alone.

When adults get screened for colorectal cancer, it can be detected early at a stage when treatment is most likely to be successful, and in some cases, it can be prevented through the detection and removal of precancerous polyps. Colonoscopy is considered the gold standard in colon cancer screening as it is the only screening that can both detect and prevent colorectal cancer.

To date, more than 1,700 organizations have committed to the shared goal of increasing colorectal screening rates to 80% and higher for adults aged 50 and older. By partnering together, we will reduce barriers to screening in our community and save more lives.

For more information about colorectal cancer, visit AMSURG’s education-focused website stopcoloncancernow.com.

AMSURG Broadens Ophthalmology Portfolio With Strategic Physician Practice Partnership

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NASHVILLE, Tenn. – AMSURG, an Envision Healthcare solution, today announced the acquisition of Horizon Eye Specialists & LASIK Center, an Arizona-based ophthalmology practice, which includes four practice locations, an ambulatory surgery center (ASC) and three optical centers. For AMSURG, a national leader in the strategic and operational management of ASCs, this introduces a new practice partnership model designed for long-term growth.

“The alignment marks a significant milestone for AMSURG and, in particular, our ophthalmology division,” said John Grant, President of Ophthalmology for AMSURG. “Strategic partnerships like this are crucial to improving the delivery of consistent quality eye care and being a provider patients can trust. Horizon Eye Specialists & LASIK Center embodies our commitment to delivering patient-centered care and upholding high clinical standards. We are thrilled to welcome its expert team of physicians, optometrists and administrative staff to the AMSURG family.”

Horizon Eye Specialists & LASIK Center includes four locations in the metro area, the Eye Surgery Center at the Biltmore and the Sharona Optical Centers in the Phoenix metro area. The group’s seven physicians and six optometrists provide an array of services, including LASIK eye surgery, cataract surgery, multifocal intraocular lenses and comprehensive eye care.

“We are thrilled to join AMSURG, a nationally recognized leader in ophthalmic care,” said Robert McCulloch, M.D., Medical Director and Senior Cataract Surgeon for Horizon Eye Specialists & LASIK Center. “The partnership will provide us with the support, expertise and resources we need to position our practice for long-term growth and success as we continue to expand our footprint within the Phoenix area and provide our patients with the high-quality care they have come to expect.”

“For more than 30 years, we have partnered with physician practices to build comprehensive outpatient surgical solutions, drive utilization, improve quality measures and expand their breadth and scale of service,” said Phillip Clendenin, President of AMSURG. “In a rapidly changing environment, we seek to be the physician-centric strategic alternative of choice for the entrepreneurial and independent physician practice. Partnering with Horizon Eye Specialists & LASIK Center was a natural fit given our existing presence in the Phoenix area and our common operational philosophy. We strongly believe our shared equity partnership model differentiates us from our competitors and will allow Horizon Eye Specialists & LASIK Center to continue to recruit top clinical talent for years to come.”

As an industry leader in outpatient care, AMSURG supports physicians in providing quality patient care through the management and operation of their ASCs. While AMSURG specializes in many areas of care, the organization has particular expertise in eye health. Its network of providers consists of more than 700 ophthalmologists and optometrists, as well as the staff members, at more than 75 surgery centers. In 2017, centers affiliated with AMSURG performed nearly 225,000 eye procedures.

With the addition of Horizon Eye Specialists & LASIK Center, the organization is building on its commitment to improve care coordination between practices, hospitals and surgery centers and enhance the overall delivery of care.