BEND, OR – Sept 7, 2022 – Bend Surgery Center, Bend Transitional Care, and Summit Health have agreed to a community driven partnership to expand short term surgical recovery bed capacity in the community. Over the past few years, operating room availability and surgical recovery beds have been in short supply often increasing delays for patients and limiting the delivery of non-urgent surgical care. In response to this access challenge, the independent community of providers began working with Bend Surgery Center and their Board of Directors to deliver a new innovative solution for these capacity issues while potentially expanding the number and types of surgical cases that could be performed in a surgery center.
After months of discussions and planning, Bend Surgery Center and Bend Transitional Care have come to an agreement to create additional short term recovery bed capacity with daily availability for patients requiring a one or two day stay post procedure. To ensure the highest quality of care, Summit Health has also agreed to join this innovative partnership by expanding its skilled nursing home team currently working at Bend Transitional Care to service patients in short term surgical beds. This new partnership will allow Bend Surgery Center to focus on expanding the surgical complexity of their program with the assurance of recovery beds and expert physician management for their patients.
“This partnership creates the dependable and predictable bed capacity for Central Oregonians in the rare event that surgical patients need a day or two of recovery time post procedure,” said Todd Currier, Administrator, Bend Surgery Center “As we work with Bend Transitional Care and Summit Health, the surgery center will have the opportunity to meet the medical needs of our patients through the expansion of some traditional complex surgical services offered in an ambulatory setting”
“Bend Transitional Care has been working closely with Summit Health and their skilled nursing home team for years now. Given the challenges the pandemic and staffing crisis present to timely surgical care for patients requiring a recovery bed, Bend Transitional Care is very excited to assist the community with this unique model of care” said Ashley Noble, Regional Administrator, Bend Transitional Care.
“In early 2021 as the operating room and bed capacity crisis became especially acute in Central Oregon, the independent healthcare community quickly met and unified to find creative and innovative ways to service our patients given the access challenges in Central Oregon” said Justin Sivill, Chief Operating Officer at Summit Health. “The leaders and staff at Bend Surgical Center and Bend Transitional Care should be very proud of this innovative best practice model as it has the potential to enhance the services and complexity of cases performed at Bend Surgery Center; eliminating patient wait times and further reducing the total cost of care for the community”.
About Bend Surgery Center
Bend Surgery Center is Central Oregon’s largest, independent, physician led surgery center offering Cardiac, Dental, ENT (Ear, Nose, Throat), General Surgery, Gastroenterology, Gynecology, Neurology, Ophthalmology, Orthopedics, Pain Management, Plastic Surgery, Podiatry, and Urology. The Surgery Center is currently finishing a remodel and addition project that will make the Center over 43,500 sq ft with 14 operating and procedure rooms which will more than double the number of patients the Surgery Center can take care of annually. The Center is fully accredited with the Joint Commission, has performed over 200,000 procedures, and accepts the overwhelming number of health plans available in Central Oregon. Bend Surgery Center
About Bend Transitional Care
Located in the ultimate outdoor Oregon city lies Bend Transitional Care, a skilled nursing community. Their services include skilled nursing, rehabilitation, and respite care. The team values quality care with a 4-star overall quality rating and a 5-star staffing rating from Medicare.gov. The American Health Care Association recognized Bend Transitional Care for quality care as part of the Quality Initiative Recognition Program. As part of the Avamere Family of Companies, the team is proud to be named one of Oregon’s most admired companies by the Portland Business Journal as they continually strive to enhance the life of every person they serve. Bend Transitional Care – Skilled Nursing and Rehabilitation (avamere.com)
About Summit Health
Summit Health is a physician-led, patient-centric network committed to simplifying the complexities of health care and bringing a more connected kind of care. In Central Oregon, Summit Health offers a comprehensive care model with 150 providers in primary care, urgent care, and nearly 40 medical specialty and services. For more information, please visit www.smgoregon.com.