Hartford HealthCare seeks approval to take control of 2 surgical center operators

Google Earth Connecticut Orthopaedic Specialists Outpatient Surgical Center in Branford.

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Hartford HealthCare (HHC) has asked the state Office of Health Strategy to approve its proposals to take control of two surgical center operators.

Two concurrent Certificate of Need (CON) applications were filed Sept. 19 by Hartford HealthCare Surgery Holdings, an HHC subsidiary.

The first CON application seeks approval for HHC Surgery to acquire an additional 2% equity interest in Endoscopy Center of Connecticut LLC (ECC), which owns and operates licensed outpatient surgical facilities at 2200 Whitney Ave. in Hamden, and 1591 Boston Post Road, Suite 206, in Guilford.

HHC Surgery owns 49% of the equity interest in ECC and has the right to appoint two of the five members to its board of managers, it said. The remaining 51% of the equity interest is owned by ECC Physician Partners LLC, which is made up of individual physician investors.

HHC Surgery states in the application that the cost of acquiring the additional 2% interest will be $374,510.

Once it has received CON approval and acquired the additional equity interest, HHC Surgery said, it will assume an equal number of board seats to ECC Partners. An amended and restated operating agreement will be put in place, establishing a six-member board of managers with three members each appointed by HHC Surgery and ECC Partners, it said.

The second CON application seeks OHS approval to also change the governing structure of Connecticut Orthopaedic Specialists Outpatient Surgical Center LLC (COSOSC), a licensed outpatient surgical facility at 84 North Main St. in Branford.

HHC Surgery already holds 51% of the equity interest in Connecticut Orthopaedic Specialists, so acquiring additional interest is not necessary. The remaining 49% is held by Connecticut Orthopaedic Specialists PC (COS), a private physician practice.

HHC Surgery said it has the ability to appoint and remove just two of the six members of the Connecticut Orthopaedic Specialists board of managers, with the remaining four members appointed and removed by COS.

Once the CON application is approved, HHC Surgery said, it will obtain the right to appoint and remove three of the six members of Connecticut Orthopaedic Specialists’ board of managers, giving it an equal number of seats on the board.

In both applications, HHC Surgery states that the proposed changes “will help to improve the quality, accessibility, and cost-effectiveness of outpatient surgical services” in greater New Haven, while also promoting health equity and ensuring that the facilities remain “a lower-cost alternative for outpatient surgical care in the service area.”

Hartford HealthCare emailed a statement to Hartford Business Journal about the CON applications.

“Generally, we do not comment on pending CON filings. Hartford HealthCare is committed to transforming health care which means providing the highest quality care in lower-cost settings. Over the past several years, we have worked to bring Connecticut new and more affordable options such as urgent care and ambulatory surgery centers, as well as a network of home-based and community services. This helps lower health care costs for all Connecticut residents while improving access to care.”