More patients than ever are walking into surgery while taking GLP-1 medications like Ozempic or Wegovy. These drugs have undoubtedly transformed diabetes and weight management, but they've also brought new concerns and challenges into the pre-op process, especially around delayed gastric emptying. For ASCs, that delay can mean anesthesia complications, case cancellations, or even hospital transfers.

I've worked with more than one surgery center that was surprised to learn a patient had continued a weekly GLP-1 injection right up until the procedure. The team had followed fasting guidelines, but the patient still had residual stomach contents. The case had to be postponed, the OR schedule was disrupted, and the day became more complicated than it needed to be.

On September 12, the Texas Ambulatory Surgery Center Society (TASCS) hosted its annual Infection Control Seminar. Ambulatory surgery center (ASC) administrators, directors of nursing, and infection control specialists gathered to spend the day learning the newest updates and guidelines regarding infection prevention.

Last month, Texas Ambulatory Surgery Center Society (TASCS) President Adam Hornback, BSN, RN and Executive Director Krista DuRapau welcomed new members and toured their centers in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. 

The two started at Texas Vision & Laser Center (TVLC), where COO Bert Witherspoon, MS, MBA, FACHE met them with a warm welcome and took them through the center, which was undergoing a few renovations in the ORs. 

During National ASC Month, Dallas Endoscopy Center (DEC) had the pleasure of celebrating its 20-year anniversary by hosting two congressional offices for tours of the center: Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett and staff from Congresswoman Julie Johnson’s office. The event, with its over 100 guests, was a huge success for DEC, its dedicated team, and the thousands of patients who have been treated at this DFW facility.

Administrator Susan Cheek stated, "We love giving tours of our center and educating people about the high-quality, low-cost outcomes that ASCs provide."

The Laser Surgery Center (TLSC), which opened in 2023, is a single-specialty ophthalmology center, a closed system that belongs to an ophthalmology-only medical practice—Texas Vision & Laser Center (TVLC)—serving North Texas. 

Last week, Texas Ambulatory Surgery Center Society President Adam Hornback, BSN, RN welcomed Representative Rhetta Bowers' staff to tour North Texas Team Care Surgery Center in Mesquite, Texas. 

The 2025 Annual Meeting was another great success! Many thanks to our speakers, exhibitors, sponsors, and attendees for participating. There was good food, there were good times with friends, and, as always, there was good information and networking. 

We look forward to continuing to unite the ASC industry throughout the rest of the year and to learning more together and from each other.

The Texas ASC Society is proud to introduce a new vendor member: Terminal Cleaning Services!

 

Terminal Cleaning Services (TCS) is redefining healthcare facility management. The company partners with the nation’s leading healthcare providers to elevate cleanliness standards and drive measurable improvements in patient satisfaction.

TCS supports ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) by terminally cleaning to Association of periOperative Registered Nurses (AORN), The Joint Commission, and Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care (AAAHC) standards. The team ensures facilities remain audit-ready through detailed compliance binders and proactive account management. Additionally, TCS provides floor maintenance services such as scrubbing, waxing, and burnishing. 

Being part of the Texas Ambulatory Surgery Center Society (TASCS) is more than just paying dues and receiving a newsletter; it’s about being part of a community that cares.

Between June 23 and 25, 2025, the Texas Ambulatory Surgery Center Society (TASCS) will host its annual conference in Irving, Texas. As the premier conference dedicated to the ambulatory surgery center (ASC) industry in Texas, the meeting features opportunities to earn continuing education credits, learn best practices from colleagues & experts, get up-to-date info on accreditation & regulations, and network with leaders from across the state. 

This year, the conference will be held at the Omni Las Colinas Hotel, a waterfront property with rooms that offer views of Lake Carolyn and Las Colinas and amenities that include:

On Tuesday, April 1, 2025, Susan Cheek, CPA, CHCC, CASC, administrator of Dallas Endoscopy Center, represented the Texas Ambulatory Surgery Center Society (TASCS) during the Senate Committee on Health and Human Services hearing at the Capitol in Austin, Texas. 

Cheek had a challenging position, as the only witness against Chair Lois Kolkhorst’s bill, SB 331, which relates to the disclosure of healthcare cost information by certain healthcare facilities.

Between February 17 and 21, 2025, the Texas Ambulatory Surgery Center Society (TASCS) had its 2nd Annual Survey Readiness Workshop. This virtual event allowed participants to prepare for accreditation success with insight from experts.  

On Day 1, Rommie Johnson, MPH, PMP, program director for the ambulatory surgery center (ASC)/office-based surgery (OBS) programs at Accreditation Commission for Health Care (ACHC), gave a great overview of ACHC and noted there are over 26,000 facilities the commission accredits nationwide, including over 2,400 in Texas.

This year marks the 89th legislative session in Texas. Each year, thousands of bills are filed, and a significant portion of these affect healthcare. On Tuesday, February 25, the Texas Ambulatory Surgery Center Society (TASCS) will lead members to the Capitol to discuss key topics and bills with legislators. 

There are several reasons why you should join us for Capitol Day 2025…

On January 1, 2025, the Outpatient and Ambulatory Surgery Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (OAS CAHPS) Survey becomes mandatory for Medicare-certified ASCs. OAS CAHPS scores are influenced by multiple factors, particularly the quality of care patients receive. 

However, providing high-quality care will not guarantee high survey scores for your ASC. Since the survey measures the patient's experience (i.e., their perception of the care received), poor survey results could stem from a disconnect between what patients experience and what the survey questions address. To achieve favorable scores, you must provide great care and focus on providing a great experience concerning the topics highlighted in the survey. Addressing these topics in a way that aligns with patient perceptions should improve how patients feel about the topics and lead to better scores.

The Texas ASC Society was pleased to show THCIC reps an ambulatory surgery center just outside of Austin, Texas. 

Last week, the Texas Ambulatory Surgery Center Society (TASCS) toured Cedar Park Surgery Center with Texas Health Care Information Collection (THCIC) representatives: Director Tarik Brown and Training Specialist Tiffany Overton.

Texas Health Surgery Center Cleburne's Landon Welch is now part of the Texas ASC Society's board!

The Texas Ambulatory Surgery Center is proud to introduce a new board member, Landon Welch, MHA, LNFA.

Welch started his career as a patient transporter at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas, and after graduate school, he became a licensed nursing home administrator in Houston, Texas. In 2019, he transitioned to the ambulatory setting and currently works with SCA Health, where he is the CEO of Texas Health Surgery Center Cleburne.  

Every year, the Texas Ambulatory Surgery Center Society (TASCS) gathers the ambulatory care industry together at its annual conference, and this year, the education, networking, learning, and best practices will take place at The San Luis Resort, Spa and Conference Center in Galveston, Texas. 

On January 19, 2024, TASCS members heard from state legislators and rule makers about what the future holds for regulatory and legislative changes that will directly impact the ambulatory care industry in Texas. 

The Texas Ambulatory Surgery Center Society (TASCS) board of directors and stakeholders met last week at the State Capitol in Austin, Texas, in order to focus on this year’s advocacy goals leading up to the next legislative session in 2025. 

The day started out with TASCS lobbyist, Eric Woomer of Congress Avenue Partners, reviewing the current state of Texas politics and the bills of interest that passed last session. Next up was a state agency panel discussing updates regarding ambulatory surgery center (ASC) rules and regulations. Sarah Mueller from Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) reviewed the itemized billing legislation that passed and the informal rules that were recently released by HHSC for stakeholder input prior to being published in the Texas Register. Mueller also spoke to the guidance letter sent to providers by HHSC. 

The Dallas Endoscopy Center (DEC) never slows down! 

This summer, they opened their new center.

Text messaging has become one of the most important communication mechanisms for ASCs. It's a fast, efficient, cost-effective, and highly successful way to get timely messages to patients and their caregivers, staff and physicians, and vendors. Given the rise of spam calls, which are motivating more people to ignore incoming calls and voicemails from numbers they do not recognize, texting is a communication mechanism increasingly preferred by the public. 

That's good news for ASCs already using or planning to add texting capabilities. Text messaging can be leveraged to communicate with stakeholders on a variety of financial, clinical, and operational issues. In fact, it can be used in many ways ASCs are often not taking advantage of — applications that go well beyond standard uses like appointment reminders and arrival and check-in instructions.