Rothman Orthopaedic Institute has hired as CEO Christian Ellison, a veteran healthcare executive with experience operating ambulatory surgical centers, to help expand its brand in the Philadelphia region and nationally, the physician-owned practice said Monday.
Rothman currently owns nine surgical centers, where its doctors perform procedures, such as joint replacements, at a lower cost less than often gets charged at hospitals, and aims to grow that business model.
“We really wanted to continue to move patients out of high-cost facilities to lower-cost facilities,” said Alexander Vaccaro, a spine specialist and Rothman’s president. “He fits the dime perfectly.”
Ellison, 55, plans to start at Rothman on October 1. He has been serving as CEO of EVP EyeCare, a Denver-based network of ophthalmology practices and surgery centers, where patients undergo cataract surgery, laser vision correction, and treatment of glaucoma conditions. EVP EyeCare provides care to patients in Colorado, Arizona, and Texas.
Prior to EVP EyeCare, Ellison was group president for the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic region at SCA Health, which operates ambulatory surgical centers.
Rothman leaders selected Ellison after a monthslong national search for a new CEO.
Gerald Williams, president of Rothman’s 16-member board of directors and an orthopedic surgeon, said Ellison has great people skills, and also has experience growing healthcare businesses on a national scale.
“He’s going to be a tremendous asset to our practice,” Williams said.
Growing pains
Rothman, which describes itself as the nation’s largest private orthopedics group, has 32 office locations, 1,600 employees, more than 200 doctors, and surgical privileges at about 70 facilities in Pennsylvania, South and Central Jersey, and Florida.
Its efforts to expand in recent years have also come with leadership turnover and financial challenges.
Rothman had fired former CEO Christopher Olivia in March 2023 after less than two years in the role. That same month Rothman laid off 18 corporate service employees, citing “spiraling costs.”
Olivia later sued Rothman, saying he was wrongfully terminated for raising alarms about financial mismanagement to its board. Rothman filed a counter lawsuit, claiming Olivia was fired for underperformance and it does not owe Olivia severance because he violated his employment agreement. The litigation is pending in Philadelphia’s Court of Common Pleas.
In January 2024, Rothman again laid off staff, cutting about 90 positions, or 5% of its then-1,800 employees. The organization blamed the layoffs on challenges facing much of the healthcare industry: inflation, labor costs, and medical care expenses outpacing reimbursement for services.
Rothman had hired Olivia to help with an ambition expansion into Florida, North Jersey and New York.
While Rothman’s joint venture with AdventHealth in Florida has been successful, the organization ultimately retreated from its expansion into North Jersey and Manhattan. Vaccaro cited a lack of capital, high costs, and low return on investments, and in the case of North Jersey, a business partnership that clashed with Rothman’s culture.
“We are big believers in growth and expansion — the right way,” Vaccaro said. “We tried different models that didn’t work as well but we learned from them.”
Under Ellison, Rothman hopes to continue to expand in the Philadelphia area and beyond. Rothman doctors currently teach and train orthopedic residents and fellows at Thomas Jefferson University. Vaccaro said the practice plans to grow locally by hiring the best residents and fellows out of Jefferson, and nationally by partnering with “academically driven” doctors who are committed to research and innovation, in addition to quality care.
A fondness for orthopedics
Ellison said the Rothman CEO job provides an opportunity to work with doctors who are pushing “their specialty forward” through training, research, new technology, and innovative care delivery, and to support and help expand Rothman’s reach.
“Expanding access to great orthopedic care in the current markets is going to be a big focus,” Ellison said. “And then beyond that, I think to the extend we have opportunities to do some more things elsewhere, we’ll evaluate those.”
Ellison, a father of four, said he and his wife plan to relocate to the Philadelphia region once their two youngest children, twins and high school sophomores, graduate. Until then, he’ll spit his time living in Philadelphia for much of the workweek, while spending time with his family in Colorado on weekends.
Ellison graduated from Pennsylvania State University in 1993 with a degree in health policy and administration. He also has a M.B.A. from George Mason University. He started his career as administrative director at Anderson Orthopaedic Clinic in Virginia.
Ellison said he was drawn to orthopedics because as a young child, he suffered from a hip disease that required wearing leg braces and being treated by orthopedic specialists. He credited them with enabling him to play high school sports, including football, wrestling, and baseball.
“I always had an affinity for medicine generally, and orthopedics more specifically, but I also liked business,” Ellison said, joking that he probably didn’t have the “science aptitude” to become a doctor.