Surgical Service Line 2024 Key Priorities

By Kelli Ashbeck, director of surgical services and orthopedics, Premier Health

As 2023 comes to a close, we’d like to reflect on successes within the surgical service line. Highlights include the Inspire Upper Airway Stimulator trial being completed by Dustin Jones, DO, at Atrium Medical Center; expansion of ENT services through Premier Physician Network; refinement of the Premier Health Heartburn and Reflux Institute; and a 17% increase in surgical volumes in 2023 compared to 2022.

In 2024, the surgical service line has new physician leadership, with James Ouellette, DO, as the service line physician lead. Dr. Ouellette will partner with Amy Stockman, vice president of surgery service line; myself; and key stakeholders from each sub-specialties to identify areas of opportunity and implement strategies in service delivery, capacity, and access across the system. Key priorities for this group in 2024 are OR optimization, shifting procedures to the appropriate sites of service based on acuity, and defining outpatient surgical and robotics strategies for the organization. If you are interested in being involved in any of this work or would like to share ideas, please contact me at kmashbeck@PremierHealth.com.

Back to the December 2023 issue of Premier Pulse