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Having a surgical experience can be an emotional moment for the patient, their family and loved ones. At Catholic Medical Center, we worked hard to put patients and families first in the construction of our ten state-of-the-art surgical suites. Located on Level D, the  operating suites are in close proximity to the Emergency Department, Intensive Care Unit and heliport during emergent situations.

Each year, more than 5,300 people receive surgical care at CMC. A variety of surgical care services are provided including: cardiac, vascular, GYN, general, orthopedic, urology, neurology and podiatry to name a few. Currently there are more than 180 local surgeons with privileges at CMC. Over the years, CMC has seen an increase in minimally invasive surgeries. Of the more than 5,300 procedures performed annually, nearly 2,700 of those are considered to be minimally invasive. Aided by technologically advanced equipment such as the daVinci Intuitive Surgical System®, a robot used to assist the surgeon, men can have their prostate removed laproscopically versus a traditional open procedure that would require an extended recovery period. New navigation such as the O-arm imaging system are used for navigation purposes in orthopedic spine surgery. Currently, CMC owns two daVinci robots.  CMC provides endovascular procedures by using lasers and balloon technology to treat vessels and restore arterial blood flow to arteries giving patients just one more option for a minimally invasive procedure. Gastric bypass and LAP-BAND® surgeries, used for weight loss treatment, are also performed laproscopically/minimally invasively.

Family Waiting and Consultation Rooms
The family waiting room is sectioned off to assist in keeping the noise level down. One area has a television while another is set aside to be a more quiet area. Both areas have wireless internet availability for laptop use. Either a scheduling coordinator or a CMC volunteer will greet patients and direct them to where they need to be or where to wait.

When the surgery is complete, there is a private consultation room just outside the waiting area for physicians to update families. This room allows physicians to talk to families without having to enter the waiting area. This feature increases privacy for patients’ families.

Pre-operative/Ambulatory Area
Patients are escorted by staff to the pre-operative/ambulatory area where there are ten bays. Six bays have glass enclosures and curtains to reduce noise, while four bays have privacy curtains, allowing for increased access and monitoring by staff. Family members will be allowed in this area prior to surgery. This area doubles as a stage 2 post-operative care area, where patients requiring less intensive post-surgical care monitoring can receive food, prepare to go home and receive discharge instructions.

Outside each surgical suite is a scrub sink and large windows. These windows allow surgeons to monitor their patient while they are receiving anesthesia. The scrub stations are operated with infrared lights.

Operating Suites
At the forefront of our design needs, providing quality patient care was of the utmost importance. Each operating suite constructed is in excess of 600 square feet with rooms assigned to cardiovascular and robotic needs in excess of 700 square feet. In most cases, this represents a doubling in size of rooms. Each suite is equipped with booms, racks that suspend from the ceiling that house shelving, gases and other required support necessary during surgery. Booms allow for equipment to be in close proximity to the patient when needed and then rotated out of the way when not in use.

In addition to the booms, there is new and improved lighting. Non-halogen lighting, or true white light, allow surgeons to render arteries, muscles and tissues in a more true color and not muted or shaded. Off of the lighting and equipment booms there are up to three flat panel monitors for use by the primary and attending physicians: one dual panel for images to be received via the electronic PACS and two for video assisted surgery. PACS is an image-based information system for the storage, communication, archiving, display, distribution and manipulation of radiographic images.

Larger rooms, such as those used in cardiac and robotic surgeries have more panels to address the specific needs when a patient requires the assistance of the heart-lung machine. Additionally, the most up-to-date cameras are used with these monitors. PACS allows for images taken during a procedure to be immediately uploaded and stored as part of a patient’s electronic medical record as well as accessed by other physicians for on-the-spot consultations if needed. Control panels in each suite allow the surgical care team to retrieve data that may be needed for consultation during a procedure.

Flooring is poured so there will no seams and the texture can be adjusted to adhere to cleanliness standards as well as preventing infection. To decrease outside distractions, there is no in-room paging. An information station located in each room allows the circulating nurse to operate all components of the suite as well as provide for expeditious care to the patient. There is a remote pathology lab, where samples can be examined and give immediate feedback to the surgeon while the patient is still in surgery. Additionally, each OR suite is equipped with a single chip camera and a complete monitoring station that is set up at the central nursing station to monitor surgery status.

Post-operative Area
The post-operative area has ten bays and a private dictation room. The bays are separated by curtains, not walls, because more visualization is needed to watch patients in their post-operative state. The newly designed post-operative area also has two negative pressure rooms. When the door of a negative pressure room opens, the air flows in as opposed to out. Patients with isolation requirements will be staged in these rooms.