Texas Ambulatory Surgery Center Society (TASCS) President Adam Hornback and Executive Director Krista DuRapau kicked off the ambulatory surgery center (ASC) tour season last week in Houston.

The first stop was Pulse Surgery Center to meet with Gaurav Aggarwala M.D. FSCAI, MBA, an interventional cardiologist and TASCS board member, and Caitlin Sims, the center’s administrator.

"We focus on cardiology, but we are actually a multispecialty center,” Sims shared as she started the tour. “We started out as a one-OR center but recently expanded to accommodate our patient growth.”

“We are doing some really amazing things in the cardiology space now in ASCs,” Dr. Aggarwala said. The center will be one of the first in the state to start electrophysiology in the ASC setting. “We are collecting outcomes and look forward to giving an update in August at the TASCS Annual Conference.”

Next, Hornback and DuRapau met up with Kayla Schneeweiss-Keene BSN, RN, CASC, Mann Eye Institute’s administrator and a TASCS board member, and one of our favorite directors of nursing, Kimberly Brown, in order to tour the brand’s newest ASC location in Sugar Land.

As we walked through the spectacular waiting room, Schneeweiss-Keene noted that the designers planned everything with bright colors to create a positive and relaxing environment for patients.

Another unique feature is the center’s media room. “[Brian D. Wright, MD] had a vision to create an environment where family members could sit and watch their loved ones undergoing procedures in real time,” Schneeweiss-Keene said.

When we finished up the day, Hornback stated, “I always learn something new by visiting different centers. It’s a really fun part of my job as president.” So if YOU want to have your center be part of the next set of tours, let us know!