Saint Francis buys majority ownership of local surgery center

Saint Francis Healthcare System has partnered with the Physicians Alliance Surgery Center in Cape Girardeau to provide the center with administrative support and expertise in the face of health care reform.

Saint Francis Healthcare System will own a 51 percent interest in the limited liability company, with the remaining 49 percent interest shared among the physicians in the alliance.

The surgery center, at 3241 Percy Drive off Mount Auburn Road, provides ambulatory surgical services in ear, nose and throat; general surgery; gynecology; ophthalmology; orthopedics; and retinal specialties.

Sixteen local physicians make up the Physician's Alliance group: Physicians Alliance chairman Dr. Brian Schafer, Dr. Curtis Coonce, Dr. Thomas Critchlow, Dr. James Edwards, Dr. Richard L. Kies, Dr. John Kinder, Dr. Patrick Knight, Dr. Rickey Lents, Dr. Todd Lumsden, Dr. Richard Martin, Dr. Adam Morgan, Dr. R. August Ritter III, Dr. Jan Seabaugh, Dr. Michael Trueblood, Dr. Ann Behrend-Uhls and Dr. David Westrich.

"Changes in the health care landscape, brought about by the Affordable Care Act, put physicians in the middle of increasing regulatory requirements, making it more challenging than ever to provide care," said Saint Francis Medical Center CEO Steven Bjelich. "Saint Francis is answering this challenge by entering into partnership relationships with some of the finest physicians groups in our region."

Physicians Alliance Surgery Center opened 11 years ago, offering outpatient surgery patients a smaller facility and more intimate setting than a traditional hospital, Schafer said.

"It is a lower-cost option, as a general rule. Since all we do is outpatient surgery, we don't have as much overhead," he said.

About a year ago, looking ahead at the changes coming with federal health care reform, Schafer said the alliance started to investigate partnership opportunities.

They considered several other ambulatory surgery companies, but in the end decided a joint venture with Saint Francis would give them the stability, management expertise and capacity for growth they wanted, Schafer said.

"The way things are moving in health care, the health care reform law is trying to push toward more integration, so we thought this would be our best option for a number of different reasons, that being one of them," he said.

The center sees about 4,000 patients annually.

mmiller@semisourian.com

388-3646

Pertinent address:

3241 Percy Drive, Cape Girardeau, MO