The following article was written by Brent D. Matthews, chair of the department of surgery and surgeon-in-chief at Atrium Health.
In recent days, a company that we have partnered with for nearly four decades began to criticize our decision to transition anesthesia service providers. They would have you believe we have made a choice that is not in the best interest of our patients and the communities we are privileged to serve. Nothing could be further from the truth. Patients – and their health, safety and satisfaction – are at the heart of our decision. We think it is important to set the record straight, and reassure the public that we remain true to our priorities, now and always – to provide the highest quality care to every patient who walks through our doors.
Atrium Health announced our decision to enter into a new partnership with Scope Anesthesia of North Carolina for anesthesia services across our system, and to terminate our business relationship with Mednax, the corporate parent company of Southeast Anesthesiology Consultants. We made this decision after taking a hard look at ourselves – and evaluating how we function and look for improvements that will create higher quality, greater efficiency, and more affordable care for our patients.
The most recent example of this is how we provide anesthesia services. In simple terms, we are making sure we have the right anesthesia professional in the operating room to meet the needs of each individual patient. Like most hospital systems across the country, wherever it makes the most sense, we contract with trusted partners to provide anesthesia services in our hospitals and other facilities. This model has served us well throughout our history and, in fact, we perform nearly 100,000 surgeries a year at our facilities across the Carolinas.
It is imperative that the relationship Atrium Health has with our anesthesiology provider be with a like-minded organization that is focused on providing the best care for our patients and communities. With the help of our new anesthesia services partner, Atrium Health will be able to keep up with the expected growth in the number of surgeries and life-saving procedures we perform each and every day. We will meet and exceed the quality and safety measures that we are evaluated on, and, most importantly, we will continue to provide the very best care that our patients expect and deserve from Atrium Health.
In recent days, a company that we have partnered with for nearly four decades began to criticize our decision to transition anesthesia service providers. They would have you believe we have made a choice that is not in the best interest of our patients and the communities we are privileged to serve. Nothing could be further from the truth. Patients – and their health, safety and satisfaction – are at the heart of our decision. We think it is important to set the record straight, and reassure the public that we remain true to our priorities, now and always – to provide the highest quality care to every patient who walks through our doors.
Atrium Health announced our decision to enter into a new partnership with Scope Anesthesia of North Carolina for anesthesia services across our system, and to terminate our business relationship with Mednax, the corporate parent company of Southeast Anesthesiology Consultants. We made this decision after taking a hard look at ourselves – and evaluating how we function and look for improvements that will create higher quality, greater efficiency, and more affordable care for our patients.
The most recent example of this is how we provide anesthesia services. In simple terms, we are making sure we have the right anesthesia professional in the operating room to meet the needs of each individual patient. Like most hospital systems across the country, wherever it makes the most sense, we contract with trusted partners to provide anesthesia services in our hospitals and other facilities. This model has served us well throughout our history and, in fact, we perform nearly 100,000 surgeries a year at our facilities across the Carolinas.
It is imperative that the relationship Atrium Health has with our anesthesiology provider be with a like-minded organization that is focused on providing the best care for our patients and communities. With the help of our new anesthesia services partner, Atrium Health will be able to keep up with the expected growth in the number of surgeries and life-saving procedures we perform each and every day. We will meet and exceed the quality and safety measures that we are evaluated on, and, most importantly, we will continue to provide the very best care that our patients expect and deserve from Atrium Health.
