CHOOSE SITE

Oct. 17-20, 2026

Ernest N. Morial Convention Center
New Orleans
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Sat Oct 17•8:00 AM – 12:00 PM

W01 – HOPD Designation: What It Really Means for Surgery Center Planning & Design

Pre-Conference WorkshopPre-Conference Workshops

Hospital Outpatient Department (HOPD) designation can unlock strategic, financial, and clinical advantages for health systems—but it also fundamentally reshapes how ambulatory surgery environments are planned, designed, and operated.

This highly interactive 4-hour workshop goes beyond definitions to explore the real-world implications of HOPD and ASC designation across planning, design, operations, and revenue cycle. Participants will examine how regulatory frameworks (FGI, NFPA 99/101, CMS provider-based rules) influence everything from occupancy classification and essential electrical systems to patient flow, sterile processing, and survey readiness.

Through a guided, team-based scenario exercise, participants will apply concepts to determine whether an HOPD, or ASC model best aligns with defined clinical, financial, and community parameters. Groups will evaluate trade-offs, defend their decisions, and learn from peer perspectives.

Participants will leave with a practical decision framework, project-start checklist, and peer-tested strategies to align capital investment, compliance, and throughput goals—while reducing redesign risk.

Presented by the Nursing Institute of Healthcare Design

More Information

Allow Registration:Yes
Capacity Unlimited:Yes
Learning Objective #1:Differentiate the regulatory and operational drivers that distinguish HOPDs from freestanding ASCs.
Learning Objective #2:Understand code and guideline triggers (e.g., FGI, NFPA 99/101, ambulatory care occupancy thresholds, essential power categories) to right‑size programs, flows, and infrastructure for HOPD‑designated surgery centers.
Learning Objective #3:Evaluate the implications of provider‑based rules (including off‑campus vs. on‑campus status and co‑location constraints) to inform site selection, adjacencies, and shared‑services strategies.