Senator Rivera & Assemblymember Gottfried Kickoff Ambulatory Surgery Center (ASC) Month in NYS

Featured in Picture (L-R): Jeffrey Flynn, Administrator / C.O.O., Gramercy Surgery Center; Assemblymember Richard Gottfried, Chair of Assembly Health Committee; Austin Cheng, Chief Executive Officer, Gramercy Surgery Center; and, Helen Lowenwirth, Administrator, Ease Side Endoscopy. (August 5, 2021)

New York State, August 6, 2021 – Senator Gustavo Rivera and Assemblymember Richard Gottfried commemorate the New York State Legislature’s adoption of their resolution recognizing August 2021 as the first ASC Month in the State of New York. To mark this historic occasion, Senator Rivera released a pre-recorded video celebrating the month and importance of ASCs, which coincided with Assemblymember Richard Gottfried’s presentation of the resolution on their behalf following his visit and tour of Gramercy Surgery Center and East Side Endoscopy. The resolution acknowledges the significance stating in part, “…ASCs deserve our collective acknowledgment, recognition and gratitude for providing safe and efficient surgical treatment to New Yorkers and striving to increase access to surgical care and reduce health care disparities.”

“NYSAASC hopes this resolution will promote awareness among all New Yorkers and policymakers for the safe, high quality, cost-efficient surgical care provided at ASCs throughout New York State. For over half a century, ASC’s have been working to improve patient-centered access to surgical care and treatment. We thank Senator Rivera and Assemblymember Gottfried for championing this recognition as ASC’s are proud to serve a vital role in the surgical health care delivery system, the importance of which was never been clearer than during the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Jon Van Valkenburg, President of The New York Association of Ambulatory Surgery Centers (NYSAASC).

ASCs provide essential surgical care and services for New Yorkers, including but not limited to cataract surgeries, endoscopies, and orthopedic procedures. These facilities also maintain a critical role in the detection and screening for certain types of cancer such colorectal cancer by performing 40 percent of all colonoscopies covered by Medicare, which contributed to a decade-long decline in colorectal cancer mortality, according to a study by researchers at the School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley. 

“I am proud that Assemblymember Gottfried and I passed a resolution declaring August of this year as Ambulatory Surgery Centers month in New York State,” said State Senator Gustavo Rivera. “As Chair of the Health Committee, I hope this resolution helps to raise awareness among New Yorkers about the high quality care surgical care Ambulatory Surgery Centers provide communities across New York State. I want to thank the NYS Association of Ambulatory Surgery Centers, the Gramercy Surgery Center, and the East Side Endoscopy for their support, and I look forward to working together in the years to come.” 

ASC Month in New York State is in conjunction with the observance of National Ambulatory Surgery Center Month, celebrating the 9,280 facilities in the U.S. that employ more than 177,550 staff and generate a total economic impact of $90 billion. Nearly 70% of Ambulatory Surgery Centers are small businesses, employing twenty or fewer employees and a growing number are women and minority owned acutely focused on enhancing accessibility to surgical care and services for patients.

“Ambulatory surgery centers are an important part of our health care delivery system,” said Assembly Health Committee Chair and resolution sponsor Richard Gottfried.  “They help expand access to surgical care, covering over 2,000 different procedures.  I congratulate the Association of Ambulatory Surgery Centers on the first-ever designation of August, 2021 as Ambulatory Surgery Centers month.”

In addition to today’s visit and tour, NYSAASC will be releasing daily informational facts across its social media platforms (Twitter, Facebook and Instagram) to educate patients and communities about the flexibility and convenience ASCs provide close to where they live.

“As New York reopens and reflects on the lessons learned from the last year and a half coupled with the continued threat from the new emerging variants, NYSAASC and its members have never felt more hopeful for the future. Recent history has demonstrated the ability of health care practitioners and the health care system including ASCs to come together and work collaboratively to meet the needs of New Yorkers even under the most challenging of circumstances,” said Jeffrey Flynn, Administrator / C.O.O., Gramercy Surgery Center, and NYSAASC Vice President. “This month is a resolve and legacy that will guide future health care planning.