GREAT BEND, KANSAS - When I joined forces with 16 fellow physicians to build a surgical hospital, we had two overriding, non-negotiable goals. First, to enable physicians to retain majority ownership and control in the facility. And second, to create an environment and culture of customer service that would make patients and surgeons feel as if they were in a five-star hotel. I think we've succeeded on both counts. Here's how we did it.

Insisting on the majority stake
For years, Great Bend's major hospital, the Central Kansas Medical Center, had been giving patients and surgeons short shrift - waiting times of one to two hours between cases were common, and surgeons were losing patients to more patient-friendly facilities. Physicians had tried to improve things within the system, to no avail. Finally, 17 of the physicians in the community, including orthopedic surgeons, general surgeons, podiatrists, anesthesiologists, family practice physicians and I (a gynecologist) decided to build our own ambulatory surgical center. We envisioned the facility as a place where physicians could take back control of patient care.