Surgery Center Partners


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Surgery Center Partners, Inc. was founded in 1997 by Samuel Marcus, MD and George Tinawi, MD to help other physicians build and operate ambulatory surgery centers that enhance patient care while maximizing physician efficiency and profitability.

From personal experience Drs. Marcus and Tinawi knew that planning, developing, and managing a surgery center is a complex undertaking that requires a unique set of skills, knowledge, and experience in areas such as:

  • Law
  • Finance
  • Real estate
  • Construction
  • Licensing and accreditation
  • Staffing and personnel management
  • Equipment and supply procurement
  • Payor contracts
  • Billing
Led by our executive team, Surgery Center Partners has assembled a professional staff with the capabilities essential for creating successful centers. Together, we ensure that our physician partners obtain all the financial and productivity benefits of owning an ambulatory surgery center without adding to their workload.

Samuel N. Marcus, MD, PhD
Co-founder

Dr. Samuel Marcus is a practicing physician in Mountain View, CA, a Clinical Professor of Medicine at Stanford University, and an attending physician at El Camino Hospital in Mountain View, Stanford University Medical Center, and Palo Alto Veterans Administration Medical Center. In 1997, Dr. Marcus co-founded Surgery Center Partners and its management subsidiary, Endoscopy Management Services Organization (EMSO), Inc. with Dr. George Tinawi. The company was established with the purpose to partner, develop, manage and operate surgery centers for physicians, by applying the experience he and Dr. Tinawi acquired from opening a center for their own practice and all the other centers they have opened. As a practicing physician, Dr. Marcus is acutely aware of the time constraints and financial demands placed upon today's physicians as they seek to provide excellent patient care. Through the 16 free-standing centers opened to date, Surgery Center Partners has helped its physician partners increase their income and professional independence without adding to their already heavy workload. A graduate of the Liverpool University School of Medicine, Dr. Marcus is a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and the American Gastroenterological Association, and a member of the American Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy and the British Society of Gastroenterology.

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George M. Tinawi, MD
Co-founder

Dr. George Tinawi, a practicing physician in Mountain View, CA from 1986 to 2004, is an entrepreneur with the vision to establish a company devoted to helping other physicians maximize their passive income through ownership in ambulatory surgical centers. Dr. Tinawi, in partnership with Dr. Samuel Marcus, established a free-standing surgery center for their own practice in 1993. Surgery Center Partners grew from their experience. Since 1997, Surgery Center Partners has grown to develop and manage 16 centers, with more in development. As a practicing physician, Dr. Tinawi developed a clear understanding of the business issues faced by physicians in today's challenging environment of capped professional fees and rising operating expenses. He understands physicians' desire to provide patients with the best possible care while ensuring that their practices attain maximum productivity and profitability. A graduate of the Medical School of University of Aleppo in Syria, Dr. Tinawi completed his residency in internal medicine at the University of Massachusetts Medicine Program and his fellowship in gastroenterology at the University of Southern California. He is board certified in both internal medicine and gastroenterology.

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Joann Zimmerman
Chief Operating Officer

Ms. Zimmerman most recently was the Senior Vice President of Operations for a large health care system in Northern California where she was responsible for all operational aspects of surgical care at fifty health care facilities. Previous responsibilities within the health care system included Quality Assurance Officer for all Northern California facilities, designing and implementing electronic medical record systems, strategic planning and implementation of clinical services for peri-operative, cardiac, pediatric, and medical/surgical programs. Ms. Zimmerman has also held previous positions as a CEO, COO, and Assistant Director of Nursing in both academic and commercial health care settings. Ms. Zimmerman is a RN trained at the St. Luke’s School of Nursing; she received her BA degree from the University of California, her MS degree from San Francisco State University, and has completed the Stanford University Executive Program. Ms. Zimmerman has numerous health care publications to her credit and has served on the Board of Trustees for the California Hospital Association and the California Association of Hospitals and Health Systems.

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Peter Legge
Chief Financial Officer

Mr. Legge has more than 30 years of experience in healthcare including hospital finance and management, Big 4 healthcare consulting, Healthcare Association management, business start-up. and multi-center ambulatory services management. Mr. Legge served as Chief Financial Officer of the Maine Hospital Association, Founder and CEO of Narrate Healthcare Inc., and Senior Healthcare Consulting Manager at Price Waterhouse Coopers. Mr. Legge holds and MBA from the Whitmore School of the University of New Hampshire (cum laude).

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Mr. Rick Mohler
Vice President of Development

Mr. Mohler joined Surgery Center Partners in 2006, bringing with him more than 25 years of senior level executive experience in healthcare and business development. After 10 years in hospital management, Mr. Mohler decided to dedicate his career to the development and  management of Ambulatory Surgical Centers . In 1989 Mr. Mohler opened the first licensed Ambulatory Surgery Center in Indiana and later was co-founder of the Indiana Federation of Ambulatory Surgery Association. He has extensive experience in outpatient center planning, development, and operations. He has successful track record in developing profitable single and multi-specialty outpatient centers in a number of states. Mr. Mohler is responsible for the ongoing development of new centers, establishing partnership relations, development of joint ventures, acquisition of existing centers and the addition of new physicians to our existing centers.

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Greg Schooler
Director of Business Development
Mr. Schooler has over 20 years of healthcare management, multi-specialty ASC development, and physician recruitment experience. Over the years, Mr. Schooler has been involved in every aspect of the surgery center development process, including feasibility studies, certificate of need, incorporation, financing, site selection, construction, equipment procurement, information systems, staff hiring and development, licensure, certification, and compliance. Besides involvement in numerous de novo ASC projects and acquisitions, Mr. Schooler has served as a board member and also as a consultant to both single and multi-specialty ASC’s. His healthcare management background also includes executive level positions in the health insurance, physician recruitment, and ambulance industries. He has been a frequent speaker at annual medical society meetings, reimbursement seminars, residency programs, and hospitals. Mr. Schooler received his BA and MS degrees from Purdue University.

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