History
Anesthesia Associates (AA) of Gadsden, Alabama was originally founded as a Professional Association under the laws of the State of Alabama in 1980. The sole physician practice covered what is now Riverview Regional Medical Center. In 1983, what is now Gadsden Regional Medical Center asked for assistance and became the second AA covered location. In 1984, AA participated in the planning and opening of the Gadsden Surgery Center and a member served as its first medical director. In 1986, what is now Marshal Medical Center South was added. In 1988, Stringfellow Memorial Hospital became the fifth facility that AA serves. Over the ensuing years several locations experienced internal growth and required further physician staffing. The Gadsden Endoscopy Center (2009), Floyd Cherokee Medical Center (2016), and partial coverage at Marshal Medical Center North (2018). The latest addition to the practice is the addition of Northeast Regional Medical Center in Anniston (2019). AA has grown to employ 20 physicians, most of whom have become equity shareholders. Despite changes in hospital ownership, economic conditions and changing governmental regulations, Anesthesia Associates continues to provide superior anesthesia services in every working location it has ever served. In 39 years of service AA has never failed to staff its locations for even a single day. Further underscoring its stability, the most common cause for a physician or office staff to leave AA is due to retirement or disability.
Throughout AA’s history we have participated in a variety of practice models involving CRNAs including leased, hospital employed, and direct employment. Currently AA employs over 60 CRNAs and continues to supervise hospital employed CRNAs in some locations. Our employed CRNAs have had a high retention rate due to our collaborative and inclusive approach to service management. Fair treatment of our employees is integral to our practice’s focus on long term relationships.
Fairness extends into contracts as well. When a decades-long relationship is planned there is no need to exploit a market inefficiency. By working together, a longstanding, mutually beneficial scenario is more likely to be achieved. To date, AA has never failed to fulfill the terms of a contract or been forced to exercise early contract terminations due to overpromising revenue, staffing shortfalls, or errant forecasting of expenses.
All members of AA are active members of the medical communities in which we serve. Activities commonly performed include medical direction of the Anesthesia department, assistance with all Joint Commission and regulatory compliance programs, physician and patient education, Medical Staff and committee duties (including serving as Chief of Staff), and participation in task forces and measurable quality outcome studies. Board certification in Anesthesiology is a requirement prior to becoming a partner at AA. Additionally, AA physicians have served as expert witnesses in malpractice defense cases and instructors in multiple regional anesthesia nerve block seminars. AA members are involved in teaching courses for medical students as well as nursing student education at several of our client facilities.
Staff
Arthur M. Boykin, MD
MANAGING PARTNER
Dr. Arthur Boykin
Dr. Arthur M. Boykin, Managing Partner: Dr. Boykin joined AA from the UAB faculty in 2009 and quickly developed an interest in service standards and quality programs at our client facilities. This led to a managing partner position in 2013, where he made administrative capability an organizational priority and incentivized partner attendance at anesthesia quality and practice management conferences to better understand the anesthesiologist’s role in the changing healthcare environment. Administrative training became a personal priority as well and he completed an M.B.A. at Auburn University in 2017.
His management portfolio includes hospital relations, physician recruitment, and benefit optimization. He served as Chief of Staff at Gadsden Regional Medical Center from 2016-2018. Prior to earning his M.D. from New York University, Dr. Boykin attended Johns Hopkins, where he earned a B.S. in Materials Engineering and an M.S.E. in Biomedical Engineering. He completed his residency in Anesthesiology at UAB with a subsequent fellowship in Critical Care Medicine, during which he also pursued advanced training in echocardiography. He is board-certified in both Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine. His clinical interests include cardiac anesthesia, septic shock, and ICU sedation.
Jimmy Potter
Practice Administrator
Jimmy Potter
Jimmy brings over 25 years of experience in the healthcare industry in which he has spent the last 15 in a leadership role. Before joining Anesthesia Associates in June of 2019, he served as Area Vice President of Business Development for Alacare Home Health and Hospice (Now Encompass Health). As practice administrator, Jimmy directs the daily operations of the practice and manages our growing business strategy. His essential responsibilities include the financial management of the practice, oversight of the revenue cycle, budgeting, financial reporting and leadership of our business office. Jimmy holds a Bachelor of Arts in Communication from the University of Mobile.
Brad Williams, CRNA
Executive chief crna
Brad Williams
Brad’s responsibilities include leading our team of Chief CRNAs, as well as recruiting and managing the overall CRNA staffing needs of our organization. In addition to his leadership responsibilities and working as a full-time CRNA for the group, he also assists administration in coordinating corporate activities and programs. Brad holds a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) and a Master of Nurse Anesthesia from the University of Alabama at Birmingham.