After eight years as Director of Nursing at Regent’s ambulatory surgery center (ASC) in Mt. Dora, Florida, Juan Uson, R.N., made a big move one year ago: all the way to Alaska, where he joined the team that opened Surgery Center of Wasilla. While the change was challenging in many ways, Uson did such a fabulous job as Wasilla’s administrator he was awarded Regent’s R.I.S.E. Administrator of the Year Award recently at the Regent’s annual meeting for ASC administrators.
The award recognized Uson for measurable excellence in three areas: Profitability, Growth and Satisfaction.
“This is not a subjective award,” says David Moody, Regent’s Vice President of Operations. “Because it is a high honor and a substantial opportunity for recognition within our company, we stick to very specific metrics and simple mathematics to find out what the ranking is and award an annual winner. Everyone is given a score and each area is weighted. Our R.I.S.E. values show up in the numbers as well.”
But according to Uson, the intangibles are what drives results for him: “I’ve always had a personal principle of saying ‘you’ll have more success if you treat the business as if it’s your own,’ and I truly believe you’ll never go wrong if you do the right thing. So, the R.I.S.E. values do actually guide the way I operate at work. That’s really the key to my success.”
Which is not to say his numbers weren’t excellent! Profitability metrics such as net revenue, supplies, and labor as percentages of net and EBITDA make up 60% of each administrator’s score. New and current physician growth is another 20%, and Patient, Employee and Physician satisfaction account for the remaining 20% of Uson’s winning metrics.
Moody says careful attention to best practices helped Uson top the rankings this year. “He took the same principles he had developed in Mt. Dora and applied them in Wasilla to help the new center grow and be profitable. And it’s still growing and, in just a year, has become a smooth-running center operationally,” Moody says. He adds: “Alaska is a very tough place to keep staff and patients coming back, as the environment can be quite harsh. It’s a difficult place to thrive.”
As his prize for winning the prestigious award, Uson will be allowed to choose between three all-expense-paid vacations: a trip to Ireland, a vacation in Mexico’s Riviera Maya, or a cruise around the Hawaiian Islands. He also received a personalized trophy. Kathy Horowitz, administrator and Director of Nursing for The Center for Specialized Surgery in Ft. Myers, Fla., was first runner up for this years’ award program, after winning it last year. She received a special certificate and a Marriott travel gift card.
