OSMS adds on its own anesthesia team

Heather Graves

Staff

September 23, 2024

NORTHEAST WISCONSIN – Since its inception, Orthopedic & Sports Medicine Specialists (OSMS) – a doctor-owned orthopedics, sports medicine, rheumatology and pain management practice serving Northeast Wisconsin and Michigan’s Upper Peninsula – has been focused on the optimum patient outcome.

Amanda Sosnosky, orthopedic surgery center administrator at OSMS, said the organization’s recent move to hire its own anesthesiologists and certified registered nurse anesthetists (CRNAs) furthers that commitment.

Though the change further “improves patient experience, controls costs and incorporates better team cohesion,” Sosnosky said it was an intentional change.

“OSMS was very happily working with a local independent anesthesia group, but they weren’t able to cover us anymore,” she said. “The economics of anesthesia in Wisconsin – and I would say across the country – (shows) a shortage of staffing. So, we really didn’t originally have the desire to (make a change).”

Sosnosky said when its independent anesthesia group wasn’t able to support OSMS’s operations anymore, “our first option would have been to support another local, independent group.”

“And quite frankly, we reached out to a number that we have very similar ethics and working styles with, and they weren’t able to cover us because of the dynamics around anesthesia right now,” she said. “There are a lot of forces, especially in the Fox Valley market, (in terms of) competition that are driving up the wages for anesthesia. It’s a unique market right now.”

Building the team

Currently, OSMS has two anesthesiologists and seven CRNAs.

Dr. Susan Allen – one of the two anesthesiologists – said the plan is to hire more CRNAs.

“We’re looking for two or three more right now to join the Fox Valley team,” she said.

Sosnosky said in addition to OSMS’s employees staff, “we also use locum (a person who temporarily fulfills the duties) CRNAs to cover our needs as well.”

“Since we are not yet fully staffed, we are very thankful to have a robust locum team to cover our everyday needs right now until we are fully staffed,” she said.

When structuring the plan for an in-house anesthesia team, Sosnosky said OSMS used historical data and trends from their two centers – Green Bay, which has been open for more than 14 years and the Fox Valley location, which is in its fourth year – to support current and future operations.

“We’re growing at OSMS, I can tell you that much,” she said. “Even the business model we went into this with, we have agreed to add to that team already. We wanted to be able to expedite our surgeons’ flow – so providing a flip anesthesiologist (an anesthesiologist who works in an operating room (OR) arrangement that allows a surgeon to have two simultaneous operating rooms) and things like that – helps support our growing business.”

The flexibility and versatility of the entire OSMS team – having the capability to work in either center – Sosnosky said is “definitely key” to balancing OSMS’s overall workload.

“It takes a lot of scrutiny of the schedule, and our OR managers look at that to try to backfill to minimize our waits for surgery of our patients – especially at this time of year,” she said. “This tends to be the surgery busy season, no matter where you are in Wisconsin… It’s a balance, that’s for sure, but the team does a really nice job trying to make it all work for everyone.”

Advantages

With price transparency a topic of importance in health care right now, Sosnosky said having everything under one roof “is a competitive advantage” for OSMS.

“With OSMS owning the ambulatory surgery centers, having the surgeons and now also having its own anesthesia team, we’re able to offer a bundled service so the patient and the payer only get one bill versus getting three separate bills – which is really an advantage to the patient,” she said.

Sosnosky said this approach reflects directly back to the OSMS experience – “we’re an OSMS family.”

“We treat our patients just like they are one of our own family,” she said. “That’s what we pride ourselves on – the patient experience.”

From a business-model standpoint, Sosnosky said OSMS’s strategy is to be a low-cost provider in the market, while maintaining high-quality service.

“Having our own team, we’re able to continue with our payer negotiations on the bundled rates,” she said. “This move enables OSMS to be more transparent about costs and explore new opportunities with bundles and unique payer relationships that we were unable to before, ultimately benefiting patients by offering comprehensive, high-quality care experiences.”

Integrated team

Additionally, Sosnosky said an in-house team is more integrated into the operations of the OSMS family and culture – which in turn fosters a better work environment and team unity.

“Having our own anesthesia team allows for better patient experiences through continuity of care,” she said.

Being on board before the change and making the transition to OSMS, Allen said the change has “truly made us part of the OSMS team, which is really nice.”

“We’ve always worked together well, but now we’re fully integrated,” she said. “I think that just helps the patient, too – the fact that we are an integrated team. It not only provides cost savings for the patient, but it also streamlines the services we provide.”

Allen said having everyone under one umbrella provides consistency for the whole patient experience.

“The fact that we have dedicated anesthesia providers here every day who know the surgeons well,” she said. “It is a very cooperative working relationship with everybody here, and I think that’s reflected in the patient experience. It’s a very smooth process.”

Sosnosky said a comment OSMS receives from patients is “our staff seems to really enjoy their job.”

“I think the greatest feedback that we hear is ‘wow, it doesn’t even seem like work for them because they’re having fun,’ and that trickles down to that patient experience,” she said. 

Allen said OSMS values work culture “very highly.”

“That culture, I think, all plays into the attitude that’s reflected from us to our patients,” she said.

To learn more, visit osmsgb.com/surgerycenters.