Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center and Surgical Care Affiliates, LLC, celebrated the opening of Wake Forest Baptist Health Outpatient Surgery – Clemmons last week at the new 12,500-square-foot facility off Peace Haven Road. It is Wake Forest Baptist’s first standalone outpatient surgery center and the first of its kind in 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, orthopaedics, otolaryngology and 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, M.D., CEO, Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, and interim dean of 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 drop-off and pick-up access at the front door 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, M.D., executive vice president, health system affairs, 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, part of Optum, as its partner to build the 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, 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, based in Winston-Salem. Construction of the single-story building took approximately 10 months with a total project cost of $8.1 million.