Surgery Center of Enid helps keep cost of outpatient surgery low

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March 22, 2006

By Tippi Rasp The Enid News and Eagle Wed Mar 22, 2006, 02:26 PM CST

Stewart Burchett is proud to say the Surgery Center of Enid provides services to a large number of the aging population.

He’s also proud of the fact that he’s been able to keep costs associated with outpatient surgery as low as possible, all during a time when medical costs continue to rise.

“The medical environment has dynamically changed,” Burchett said. “Medical costs seem to be skyrocketing.”

But the Surgery Center struggles to keep costs low and provide local and area residents with lower costs than large hospitals.

“Our lower-cost philosophy has helped our reputation,” Burchett said.

Burchett has been at the helm of the Surgery Center of Enid for nine years. The Surgery Center is owned by about 15 local physicians, and he said the center not only serves residents with a valuable service, it also serves as a recruiting tool to bring physicians to Enid. The owners are local physicians and when a physician leaves, typically another physician takes that spot.

The Surgery Center started offering cataract surgery in 2000, and Burchett said that procedure totals about one-third of the surgeries performed there. Another third of the business comes from colonoscopy, while other specialty procedures, including gynecology, podiatry and plastic surgery, make up the remaining procedures.

He said the increase in procedures, like cataract surgery and colonoscopy exams, is due to the increase in population of those who are typically associated with the procedures. As baby boomers age, more people are reaching the age typically recommending for pre-screening for diseases like colon cancer, he said.

“We do about 50 percent Medicare here,” Burchett said. “We serve a large number of the aging population.”

And, he said, the general population is getting more health-conscience. As the technology advances to decrease the risks associated with illnesses, more people are learning of those advantages. And they’re seeing that northwest Oklahoma can hold its own when it comes to medical care.

“It’s a misnomer that driving to Oklahoma City is going to get them better care or service,” Burchett said. “It’s a misconception.”

In fact, Burchett said, The Surgery Center of Enid complements Enid’s two hospitals. What the hospitals can’t offer, the Surgery Center can.

“We’re simple — a one-stop shop for outpatient surgery,” he said, adding that hospitals better serve the population for in-patients issues.

Having both a surgery center and hospitals makes Enid seem more well-rounded, he said.

Burchett said he works with a “passionate” group of employees and physicians who are dedicated to providing Enid and northwest Oklahomans with the best outpatients services in the area..

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