Ophthalmologist Dr. Patrick Costello removes cataracts, performs laser eye surgery and does cosmetic eyelid procedures at the free-standing Griffiss Eye Surgery Center in Rome. He said the center, which opened about three years ago, offers patients cheaper, faster and more convenient care than a hospital. "Everyone is highly specialized," he explained. "Typically, I can do two-and-a-half times as many cases at the surgery center in the same amount of time. And I'm not operating any faster. It's the turnover of the room and the efficiency." His center is not alone. Two more local ambulatory surgery centers are in the works: an orthopedic, plastic and pain surgery center in Westmoreland and another for pain management in either Utica or Kirkland.
