Last October, Melody Mena, RN, CNOR, found herself on the list of 39 ASC Women Leaders to Know from Becker’s Ambulatory Surgery Center Review. Upon reviewing her many professional accomplishments, it’s no wonder she made the cut.

To say that Mena – who launched her career as an x-ray technician and then headed straight to the operating room after earning her nursing degree in 1995 – knows a thing or two about reviving struggling healthcare businesses would be an understatement. In 1999, armed with her skills as an operating room nurse, her passion for the profession and her innate business sense, she began running two different medical staffing and consulting firms, a role she held through 2004. During this time, Mena was frequently hired to turn around fledgling physician practices by revamping budgets, negotiating managed care contracts, instilling ownership and trust in the employees, and helping the physicians establish (and reach) lofty, yet attainable goals for their practices.

Despite her sterling reputation and solid track record of transforming struggling centers, Mena, a strong community advocate, sold her second company and ran for Henry Country (GA) Commissioner. Her mere 100-vote loss proved to be a big win for her next Cinderella-story facility: the Surgery Center at Mt. Zion, a floundering joint physician/Southern Regional Health System venture located in south metro Atlanta.

“The Health System happened to be one of my clients, and after I sold my consulting company they asked me to work for their center. The center wasn’t losing money, but it wasn’t making money, either. I was basically brought in to close the center down,” Mena noted.

What Mena assumed would be a temporary assignment quickly evolved into something far more permanent. A comprehensive assessment revealed the Center’s flaws – and also its untapped potential.

“The Center was in bad shape. Policies and procedures hadn’t been updated in years and managed care contracts hadn’t been negotiated in years, either. Staff morale was down. But I saw [the Center] as a diamond in the rough and wanted to see it reach its true potential. There was no reason why that facility couldn’t be the top in the country. It just needed someone to steer it and point it in the right direction.”

She convinced the general partner to give her one year to turn the business into the profit center she believed it could become.

Trust and triumph
Serving as the Center’s director of surgical services, Mena got the ball rolling by pulling together the general partner and physicians and building the foundation for effective communication and teamwork. Rather than arranging a formal initial meeting, Mena hosted a party to celebrate the kick-off of the new and improved center.

Following the party, which helped reset the tone of the relationship between the general partner and physicians, she arranged a meeting to clearly outline goals and expectations.

“I explained that I was the administrator and told them what we needed to do to turn the center around. I was clear about what I expected from them and I also told them what they could expect from me,” she said, adding that despite some initial doubt from physicians, she stood her ground and remained hopeful that success would be had if everyone did their part.

She knew that solid communication would be paramount to the Center’s success. “I have turned around a number of healthcare companies in distress and the one thing they all have had in common is poor communication. Good communication is the hallmark of good leadership, so correcting communication issues and restoring trust was critical,” she said. Mena recruited the medical director to help communicate effectively with the physicians, and relied on weekly ten-minute meetings and concise monthly emails to keep everyone informed of the Center’s status – and their next course of action. She also controlled the balance sheet and brought the Center into positive cash flow.

Within one year, as Mena predicted, the surgery center became a thriving, technologically-advanced profit center. “It took a lot of blood, sweat and tears, but we all pulled together and made it happen. It’s definitely my biggest success story.”

The numbers certainly don’t lie. In 2007, just one year after Mena took the reins, the surgery center performed 4,900 procedures, representing a 15% growth over 2006 totals. It also boasted a 98% patient satisfaction rating.

Mena has also turned the Center into a shining example for the area by making community health a top priority. The facility performed $362,000 in free care in 2007 for uninsured patients who would have otherwise had to forgo procedures due to lack of financial resources. In 2008, the Center provided $389,000 in free care and is looking forward to hitting $400,000 this year.

“There is a real need for charity care in the outpatient setting. People can go to the ER and get emergency care, but it’s not the same for elective care. There are so many people who are working hard and doing the best they can, but still can’t afford procedures that would improve their quality of life. It’s important for us to do our part to help out.”

Aside from free care, the Center also engages the community’s youth by visiting schools and creating mock-up ORs – complete with portable equipment – that allow the children to don gowns, masks and gloves, scrub up, have their vitals checked, engage with staff, and imagine a career in the surgical services arena. The Center also visits schools and daycares to spread word on the importance of hand washing and its role in infection prevention.

Mena’s resounding success with the Center landed her an even bigger role in 2008 – as director of surgical services for the entire Southern Regional Health System. Other positive changes were in store for Mt. Zion Surgery Center, as well. Fueled by the growth, the Center relocated to a much larger, state-of-the-art facility in Jonesboro, GA, and was renamed Spivey Station Surgery Center to reflect the new location. The new, 25,000 square-foot facility offers high-level services such as a completely wired patient waiting area with free business office tools and Internet café, special children’s soundproof recovery rooms, operating rooms with telesurgery capabilities, self-warming patient gowns, a patient dining area, and a children’s-only waiting area.

The Center, which specializes in otolaryngology, pain management, podiatry, general surgery, orthopedics, urology, and gynecology, sees roughly 5,000 patients annually and is recognized as the top pain management provider in Atlanta’s Southern Arc. The Center has proudly maintained a zero percent infection rate since 2000 and performs among the top 5% of national performance benchmarks for efficiency and best outcomes, according to the Federated Ambulatory Surgery Association.

Off-the-clock contributions
While Mena’s talent and enthusiasm for breathing new life into struggling healthcare facilities in undeniable, it’s not her only passion. As further evidence of her community-focused spirit, she religiously fund raises for various organizations, such as the YMCA and Partners in Youth, and also volunteers once a month at a free health clinic.

She’s also a formally-trained fine artist and a prolific, widely published writer. She co-authored an ASC finance and accounting book, as well as dozens of professional articles. “While I’m very enthralled in my work, I also really love satirical and creative writing,” she added, noting that she even maintains a web log “for fun.” She’s also an avid traveler and visits her significant other in the French Riviera every few months.

Still, Mena’s true love lies with her two young, rough and tumble boys, ages eight and 12. As a single mother living in the Georgia countryside, Mena is the epitome of a hands-on parent. A self-proclaimed tomboy, she regularly races four wheelers with her kids and isn’t afraid to let down her hair and become covered in mud.

“I really live life as an adventure and am not one to shy away from a challenge or something new. You can’t be afraid or you miss out on some great opportunities.”