LAYTON—A new state-of-the-art Ambulatory Surgery Center (ASC) on the Intermountain Layton Hospital campus will open its doors to patients Aug. 3. A ribbon cutting to unveil the facility was held June 17.

“It was about a year and a half ago that we convened on the top floor of the hospital and watched together as an excavator turned the first mound of dirt,” said Kelly Duffin, president of Intermountain Health north market and Layton Hospital. “In the 18 months a lot has happened. It really is the culmination of so much work that we’re here celebrating today.”

So this surgical center brings together four operating rooms, pre and post surgical suites with an eye to focus on lower costs, high quality patient care that will provide surgeries in many different specialties, he said. “One incredible piece of this whole process is the ability of our doctors and teams to work together to provide care close to home in a way that allows people to go home after the care is delivered.”

The ASC is different from a hospital, said Mike Clark, executive leader for surgery centers at Intermountain Health. “Medicare has lots of categories of how they deliver health. They have hospitals that do what hospitals do but ASCs do things differently than what a hospital does. We don’t keep people overnight.”

Ambulatory surgery centers are about half what they pay the hospital to do the exact same thing, he said. Since the procedures are done outside of the hospital setting and don't require the overhead for long stays, it helps lower the cost associated with the surgery.

“Everything we do there (Layton Hospital) we do here, unless the patient needs something more extensive,” said ENT Neil Van Leeuwen, M.D. “It’s more economical for the patient to pay $300 out of pocket as opposed to $1,000. Insurance saves too.”

The ASC has all of the state-of-the-art equipment that a hospital has, he said. “Imaging, sinus surgeries, thyroidectomies, we can do all of that here.”

With the surgical center patients don’t run the risk of secondary sickness, said Nancy Halliday, administrator Layton Surgical Center. “It helps that we don’t have any sick people. There are no emergency procedures, they’re all elective. It also leaves open beds that the hospital can save for those who need acute care.”

“We know that people heal better when they are close to home and having this resource in Davis County helps ensure patients can be at home faster where they heal best," Clark said. “This location means people won’t have to travel far to get the care they need.”