Lodi Outpatient Surgical Center to close this month
Centrally located in a highly-visited business park along Ham Lane, the golden lettering on the exterior of Lodi Outpatient Surgical Center has probably been seen by nearly everyone in town.
At the end of the month, its signage will no longer be visible.
The outpatient surgical center, which has called 521 S. Ham Lane home for the past three decades, will be closing at the end of March, Adventist Health Lodi Memorial Hospital officials said this week.
“The financial viability of the center was not there anymore because patient volume has dropped significantly over the last few years,” hospital CEO David Walcott said.
In a statement sent to the News-Sentinel, hospital officials also said the changing climate of healthcare reimbursement was a factor in deciding to close the center.
Walcott said the center had been in Lodi for about 35 years, and patient volume at the surgical center had declined by 30 percent from three years ago.
He added there are several staff members on hand at the center, including 10 physicians.
“The hospital is partnering with the surgeons there to make sure the services they provide will still be available here in the Lodi community,” Wolcott said. “The physicians there will be able to go to another location of their choice.”
Lodi Outpatient Surgical Center is a joint venture partnership between Chicago-based Regent Surgical Health, Adventist Health and local physicians.
The facility provides services such as endoscopy, general surgery, orthopedics, podiatry, opthamology, urology and ear, nose and throat specialties, according to its website.
Wolcott said while Adventist Health and Regent Surgical Health are partners at the surgical center, the facility is managed by California Emergency Physicians, a holding company based in Emeryville.
The company, now called Vituity, according to its website, has facilities located in 14 states across the country, including Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Nevada, Arizona, Texas, Nebraska, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Georgia and West Virginia.
“We’re sad to see it close,” Wolcott said. “But we will continue to take care of the healthcare needs of the Lodi community after it’s gone.”