1. You’re in the midst of planning for major ASC expansion. What is driving this process and what problems are you trying to solve?

We have maxed our space amidst growing patient demand and want to improve efficiency, outcomes, and the patient experience. As it is a large capital investment, we have some unknowns and tradeoffs that pose many problem-solving challenges. Having participated in charitable outreach has given me a unique perspective that is helpful in addressing these challenges.

2. What kinds of charitable outreach are you involved with?

I’ve focused a lot of my charitable work on providing surgical eye care, because it’s a skill set not readily available in third-world countries. My staff and I participate in a recurrent mission in St. Vincent and the Grenadines. It’s something we do in conjunction with Mobile Medical Mission Hospital, and also with the local Lions Clubs in St. Vincent and in Indiana, where I once practiced.

3. Tell us more about OOSS Gives.

OOSS Gives is a strategic initiative introduced 3 years ago by the Outpatient Ophthalmic Surgery Society (OOSS) to engage the outpatient surgical community in support of domestic and international efforts to address the surgical vision care needs of indigent patients. Coordinating closely with other organizations, foundations, and industry partners, we are forming the OOSS Gives Foundation to share the collective resources and clinical and operational expertise of the outpatient surgery center. Whether it’s helping with disposable fees or preparing and getting surgical teams involved and where they need to be, we want the OOSS Gives Foundation to be another part of the solution to preventable or reversible blindness around the world. Anything we can do to increase the engagement of surgery centers and individual physicians in charitable care is a win for everyone. It’s great for patients, and I always get as much out of the experience as those whom I serve.

4. How does your charitable work, with its inherent challenges and limitations, help strengthen your skills as a practitioner?

I think one of the biggest benefits is the opportunity to take care of patients in difficult situations in which we don’t have our usual tools and resources. It forces us to find new ways to solve problems, and it’s not always visiting doctors teaching these creative techniques. Sometimes we are learning from local doctors and surgical teams who work every day with these patients. Necessity is the mother of invention, right? When I get home, I continue to look for areas to improve efficiency to provide the best possible solution with the least burden in regard to technology and complexity. This tends to yield the most reproducible process. I think, “What if I didn’t have all of these tools, what are the essentials I need to serve this patient?” And part of that mindset comes from the need to be adaptable in more technologically compromised settings outside the country. This is the creative mindset we’re using as we take on the challenge of expanding our ASC, and it’s the same mindset that guides our formation of the OOSS Gives Foundation. ■

Cathleen McCabe, MD, OOSS VP & AAO Councilor, of Eye Associates Ambulatory Surgery Center, on providing charitable eye surgery and its implications for the practice of outpatient surgery in for-profit surgical settings