Wake Forest Baptist opens first outpatient surgery facility in Clemmons

WINSTON-SALEM — Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center — in partnership with Surgical Care Affiliates, LLC, (SCA) — has opened the Wake Forest Baptist Health Outpatient Surgery in Clemmons.

The 12,500-square-foot facility is Wake Forest Baptist’s first standalone outpatient surgery center and the first of its kind in the village of Clemmons.

Wake Forest Baptist and SCA are joint owners in the venture, with Wake Forest Baptist as the majority owner.

The facility features three state-of-the-art operating rooms where scheduled outpatient procedures will be performed, including gynecology, orthopedics, otolaryngology, plastic and general surgery.

“This is a great partnership that will help improve the cost and convenience of health care for our patients,” said Julie Ann Freischlag, CEO of Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center and interim dean of the Wake Forest School of Medicine. “Our partnership with Surgical Care Affiliates allows us to streamline the process related to supply chain, staffing and scheduling. This can potentially result in a reduction of out-of-pocket costs for patients, compared to hospital-based surgeries.”

The surgery center offers free parking and easy drop-off and pick-up access in front of the facility for patients and family members.

“One convenient location close to home is just one reason why we planned this outpatient surgery center,” said Kevin P. High, executive vice president of health system affairs for Wake Forest Baptist Health. “It will meet the growing need in Clemmons and the surrounding area by providing safe and efficient surgeries in an outpatient setting. This allows our patients to recover in the comfort of their own homes.”

Wake Forest Baptist chose SCA, which is part of Optum, as its strategic partner to build its Clemmons surgery facility because SCA specializes in developing surgical facilities across the country. SCA is affiliated with more than 200 surgical facilities, including ambulatory surgery centers and surgical hospitals, in partnership with approximately 3,000 physicians.

“The outpatient setting offers patients a high-quality experience in a comfortable setting,” said Kelli Collins, vice president of operations for SCA. “Typically, we see higher patient satisfaction scores due to more one-on-one engagement and a process that enables patients to have their procedures completed more efficiently. As an academic medical center, Wake Forest Baptist is known for outstanding patient- and family-centered care, which will be reflected in the surgical services offered in this location.”

Summit Healthcare Group – a Winston-Salem-based real estate development company specializing in medical office projects – is the developer for the project.

The architect is Design Strategies, LLC, of Charlotte and the general contractor is Frank L. Blum Construction Company, which is based in Winston-Salem.

Construction of the single-story building took approximately 10 months with a total project cost of $8.1 million.