In July, state regulators of Vermont approved a certificate of need (CON) for the first multi-specialty and second independent ASC in the state. Amy Cooper, executive director of HealthFirst in Burlington, Vermont, talked to ASC Focus about her experience with the process that took three years to come to fruition.

What obstacles did you have to overcome during the CON process and how did you overcome them?

COOPER: Regulators and state officials had very limited knowledge of the benefits of ASCs and the role they play in the health system. We used material from ASCA, industry journals, the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) and peer reviewed studies that documented the benefits of lower costs, greater efficiency and equal or better quality to hospital outpatient departments (HOPD).