SCA Health
United States operator and developer of ambulatory surgery centers and outpatient surgical networks.
Last updated August 25, 2026
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Overview
SCA Health, formerly known as Surgical Care Affiliates, is a United States healthcare services company focused on ambulatory surgery centers and other outpatient surgical facilities. The company works with physicians, health plans, and health systems to acquire, develop, manage, and improve facilities that provide same-day or short-stay procedures outside the traditional inpatient hospital setting. Its network includes more than 370 ambulatory surgery centers across 35 states and performs more than one million outpatient procedures annually, according to the company description summarized in Wikipedia. Approximately 9,200 affiliated physicians participate in the network and provide services across multiple surgical specialties. The business traces its origins to 1982, when Joel Gordon founded Surgical Care Affiliates in Nashville, Tennessee. Gordon had previously founded General Care Corp., a hospital company later sold to Hospital Corporation of America. SCA initially raised capital through a New York Stock Exchange listing and used the proceeds to acquire existing surgery centers and construct new facilities, particularly in the southeastern United States. By 1995, the company had expanded to roughly 67 facilities. HealthSouth announced the acquisition of SCA in 1995, completing the transaction in early 1996. SCA was combined with HealthSouth’s broader outpatient surgery operations, and the enlarged division became one of the largest outpatient surgery businesses in the United States. HealthSouth subsequently added other surgery-center companies and independent facilities, eventually expanding the division to more than 200 facilities in 37 states. In 2007, HealthSouth agreed to sell the surgery-center division to TPG Capital while retaining an equity interest. TPG completed the transaction in June 2007, creating a standalone company that revived the Surgical Care Affiliates name and retained Birmingham as its headquarters. The company appointed Andrew Hayek as president and chief executive officer in 2008. It later returned to the public markets with an initial public offering in October 2013. In March 2017, SCA became part of Optum, UnitedHealth Group’s diversified health-services platform. The combination placed SCA within a larger healthcare ecosystem spanning provider services, health benefits, pharmacy services, and technology. SCA changed its corporate brand from Surgical Care Affiliates to SCA Health in May 2022. SCA Health’s operating model emphasizes partnerships rather than solely owned facilities. It forms joint ventures with hospitals, health systems, physician organizations, and other healthcare groups, seeking to align clinical expertise, local provider participation, capital, and operational management. Examples include a surgical strategy partnership with Texas Health Resources in the Dallas–Fort Worth market, a Southern California arrangement involving MemorialCare Medical Foundation and Monarch Healthcare, and a network developed with Advocate Health Care in Illinois. The company has also supported outpatient total-joint-replacement pathways through its investment in SwiftPath and has served as a foundational corporate partner of One World Surgery, a nonprofit operating an ambulatory surgery center in Honduras. SCA’s current positioning centers on expanding convenient, lower-cost outpatient care while maintaining clinical quality, physician collaboration, and coordinated facility operations.
History
SCA Health began in 1982 as Surgical Care Affiliates, founded by Joel Gordon in Nashville, Tennessee. Gordon had previously established General Care Corp., a hospital company that was sold to Hospital Corporation of America in 1980. After that sale, Gordon worked with Andrew “Woody” Miller, a former HCA executive, and Jack Massey, an HCA co-founder and investor, to establish SCA. The new company used public-market capital to acquire existing surgery centers and develop additional facilities, initially concentrating on the southeastern United States. Between 1982 and 1995, its network grew to approximately 67 facilities. In October 1995, HealthSouth announced plans to acquire SCA for approximately $1.2 billion. The transaction closed in early 1996, after which HealthSouth integrated SCA into its outpatient surgery division and moved the relevant administrative operations from Nashville to Birmingham, Alabama. Together with other acquisitions, including ASC Network Corp. and National Surgery Centers, the enlarged HealthSouth division became the largest outpatient surgery provider in the United States at that time. The division ultimately exceeded 200 facilities in 37 states. HealthSouth announced in March 2007 that it would sell the surgery-center division to TPG Capital while retaining an equity interest. TPG completed the transaction in June 2007, separating the division from HealthSouth and recreating it as an independent company. The new business adopted the Surgical Care Affiliates name in reference to the original organization and kept its headquarters in Birmingham. Mike Snow, who had served as HealthSouth’s chief operating officer, became the new company’s first chief executive officer. He departed approximately a year later to lead Wellmont Health System. In May 2008, Andrew Hayek became president and chief executive officer. SCA expanded through acquisitions, new facility development, and partnerships with hospitals, health systems, and physician organizations. It entered the public markets through an IPO in October 2013. Its partnership strategy included a surgical initiative with Texas Health Resources in the Dallas–Fort Worth region, a Southern California joint venture involving MemorialCare Medical Foundation and Monarch Healthcare, and a network partnership with Advocate Health Care in Illinois. These arrangements were intended to combine local physician participation with SCA’s facility-management and operational capabilities. The company also broadened its outpatient clinical model. In 2016, it invested in SwiftPath, a company whose protocols supported rapid recovery and outpatient hip and knee replacement. SCA reported that dozens of its facilities subsequently performed outpatient total-joint procedures. Separately, SCA became a foundational corporate partner of One World Surgery, a nonprofit initiative supporting an ambulatory surgery center near Tegucigalpa, Honduras. In March 2017, SCA became part of Optum, UnitedHealth Group’s health-services division. The acquisition placed the outpatient surgery operator within a large, diversified healthcare group. In January 2021, SCA was indicted by a federal grand jury in relation to alleged agreements restricting the recruitment of senior-level employees. The allegations concerned arrangements with a Texas-based company and a Colorado-based company during periods between 2010 and 2017; the Department of Justice later identified the Colorado company as DaVita. In May 2022, the organization changed its brand from Surgical Care Affiliates to SCA Health. The rebranded company continues to operate and develop ambulatory surgery facilities across the United States, with its business centered on outpatient access, physician alignment, health-system partnerships, and facility performance.
- 2022
Corporate rebrand to SCA Health
[1]The company changed its name from Surgical Care Affiliates to SCA Health.
- 2017
SCA joined Optum
[1]SCA became part of Optum in March, bringing it into UnitedHealth Group’s health-services portfolio.
- 2013
Initial public offering
[1]Surgical Care Affiliates completed an IPO in October.
- 2008
Andrew Hayek became president and CEO
[1]Andrew Hayek was appointed president and chief executive officer.
- 2007
SCA became an independent TPG-backed company
[1]TPG Capital completed the purchase of HealthSouth’s surgery-center division and revived the Surgical Care Affiliates identity.
- 1996
SCA was integrated into HealthSouth
[1]The acquisition closed and SCA was combined with HealthSouth’s outpatient surgery operations.
- 1995
HealthSouth announced the acquisition of SCA
[1]HealthSouth announced a proposed acquisition valued at approximately $1.2 billion.
- 1982
Surgical Care Affiliates was founded
[1]Joel Gordon founded the original Surgical Care Affiliates in Nashville, Tennessee.
Products and positioning
A provider-partner and operator focused on expanding convenient, high-quality, lower-cost outpatient surgery through ambulatory facilities, physician collaboration, and health-system partnerships.
Outpatient healthcare facilities · 1982
Ambulatory surgery centers
SCA Health operates and develops a network of ambulatory surgery centers where patients receive surgical procedures without the extended stays typically associated with inpatient hospitals. The centers cover multiple specialties and are commonly organized through partnerships with physicians, health systems, and other healthcare organizations.
Healthcare joint ventures
Outpatient surgical partnerships
The company’s partnership model combines SCA Health’s operational and facility-management capabilities with the clinical staff, local relationships, and strategic resources of physicians, hospitals, health systems, and health plans. These arrangements support the acquisition, construction, optimization, and coordinated management of surgical facilities.
Orthopedic outpatient care · 2016
Outpatient total-joint-replacement programs
Through its investment in SwiftPath and related facility capabilities, SCA Health supports outpatient hip and knee replacement pathways. The model incorporates patient education, selection criteria, rapid-recovery protocols, and surgical techniques intended to allow appropriately selected patients to receive joint-replacement care outside an inpatient setting.
Controversies
2021
Federal labor-market collusion indictment
A federal grand jury indictment alleged that SCA participated in agreements with a Texas-based company and a Colorado-based company not to solicit certain senior-level employees. The alleged agreements were said to span periods from 2010 through 2017. The Department of Justice later identified the Colorado company as DaVita.
2021
Employees file no-poach lawsuit against Surgical Care Affiliates, DaVita and USPI
A putative class action was filed against Surgical Care Affiliates LLC, DaVita Inc. and United Surgical Partners International, Inc. Plaintiffs accuse the companies of maintaining a multi-year agreement not to solicit each other’s senior-level employees and claim the conduct violates the Sherman Act; the allegations are claims in the lawsuit, not a court determination.
Marketing campaigns
- 2016SwiftPath investment and outpatient joint-replacement expansion
United States
SCA invested in SwiftPath, a company developing evidence-based protocols for rapid recovery and outpatient hip and knee replacement. The initiative supported the expansion of outpatient total-joint procedures within SCA-affiliated facilities.
Outcome. SCA reported that 43 outpatient facilities were performing total-joint replacements.
- One World Surgery partnership
Honduras · United States
SCA served as a foundational corporate partner of One World Surgery, a nonprofit initiative supporting an ambulatory surgery center near Tegucigalpa, Honduras, on the grounds of a large orphanage campus.
Outcome. The partnership supported a facility providing surgical care in Honduras.
Brand decisions
2022
Rebrand from Surgical Care Affiliates to SCA HealthStrategyBackground
The company sought a brand identity reflecting its broader healthcare-partnership and outpatient-care activities.
Action taken
The corporate brand was changed to SCA Health in May 2022.
Aftermath
The organization continued operating its ambulatory surgery network under the SCA Health name.
2017
Acquisition by OptumM&ABackground
SCA operated a large outpatient surgical network and had developed partnerships across the United States.
Action taken
SCA became part of Optum in March 2017.
Aftermath
The company became part of UnitedHealth Group’s diversified health-services platform.
2013
Initial public offeringOtherBackground
After several years as a standalone, private-equity-backed company, SCA pursued access to public equity markets.
Action taken
Surgical Care Affiliates issued shares in an IPO in October 2013.
Aftermath
The company operated as a publicly traded business until its subsequent acquisition by Optum.
2007
Sale of HealthSouth’s surgery-center division to TPG CapitalM&ABackground
HealthSouth decided to sell its surgery-center division while retaining an equity interest in the resulting company.
Action taken
TPG Capital completed the acquisition and established SCA as a standalone company.
Aftermath
The business revived the Surgical Care Affiliates name and continued operating from Birmingham.
1995
Agreement to sell SCA to HealthSouthM&ABackground
SCA had grown to approximately 67 facilities and was operating in a consolidating outpatient-surgery market.
Action taken
HealthSouth announced an acquisition of SCA for approximately $1.2 billion.
Aftermath
The transaction closed in early 1996 and SCA was integrated into HealthSouth’s outpatient surgery division.
Announced acquisition value. Approximately $1.2 billion (1995)
Recent events
Employees file no-poach lawsuit against Surgical Care Affiliates, DaVita and USPI[2]
Reported:
A putative class action was filed against Surgical Care Affiliates LLC, DaVita Inc. and United Surgical Partners International, Inc. Plaintiffs accuse the companies of maintaining a multi-year agreement not to solicit each other’s senior-level employees and claim the conduct violates the Sherman Act; the allegations are claims in the lawsuit, not a court determination.
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