For more than twenty-five years, Cindy Myers has devoted her career to optimizing efficient anesthesia practice with a special focus on ASCs. Starting out in CRNA recruiting, Cindy has touched nearly every facet of the profession, handling everything from scheduling locum providers to recruiting full-time clinical staff, to building and leading an ASC-focused anesthesia management team at NorthStar at national scale.
Agility in a Fast-Paced World
When NorthStar began building its dedicated ASC support team, Cindy was a natural fit to take the reins. Appointed by NorthStar’s President and Chief Operating Officer, Meagan Barkett, Cindy embraced the role with enthusiasm. For her, the appeal has always been in the variety and fast pace of the ASC environment. “You’re kind of like an air traffic controller,” she says, referencing the many moving parts and sophisticated processes her team has the chance to influence daily.
The Power of Relationships in the ASC
For Cindy and her team, relationship-building isn’t just a nice-to-have—it’s the cornerstone of her approach. She sees ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) as the “small towns” of healthcare, in contrast to the “urban life” of hospital systems. “ASCs run on relationships,” she explains. “You get to know people. You build trust. That’s how we’ve kept partners through all the ups and downs this industry can bring: provider expenses, stipend negotiations, everything. They stay because they trust us.”
That trust is earned through transparency and hands-on collaboration. Cindy and her team work to ensure everyone—from clinical teams to ASC administrators—feels supported and seen. “We want everyone to succeed,” she says. “That only happens when the relationship is strong.”
And the strength of these relationships has endured: under her leadership, NorthStar has maintained anesthesia service contracts in places like Virginia and Michigan for over a decade.
Navigating ASC Challenges with Strategy and Empathy
The ASC landscape is changing rapidly. With hospitals slow to ramp back up post-pandemic, many surgeons have transitioned even complex cases to ASCs—attracted by faster patient recovery times and lower costs. As a result, ASCs are busier than ever, and Cindy’s team is helping them navigate these growing pains.
One of the biggest hurdles? Utilization of block schedules. Many ASCs are now maxed out on service hours, and Cindy’s team is on the front lines helping facilities understand how to adapt. “At a hospital, you’re surrounded by a larger anesthesia team, but at an ASC, the anesthesia teams are lean – so we have to be there to support our partners with creative scheduling optimizations that are right for their unique environment,” she notes.
That’s why Cindy is deeply committed not only to staffing ASCs with experienced professionals, but also to staying close to the day-to-day reality for NorthStar’s clinicians and ASC partners. “When an ASC reaches out to my team to candidly brainstorm the challenges they are facing, that’s when I know we’re doing our job right. It means we’re not just a vendor. We’re a trusted part of their team.”
