Expanding Surgical Services Access at ORMC

 

“As the number of surgical cases continues to increase at our hospital, so does our need to maximize our space and enhance our ability to meet the community’s needs,” said Sherry L. Buxton RN, BSN, MBA, NEA-C, chief surgical services officer, Adult Hospital Group, Orlando Health. “Schedules for surgeries consist of of planned surgeries and emergency same day surgeries, all of which are critical to patient care. Additional operating rooms mean more access to surgical care and more timely options for patients.”

 

There are 55 to 60 scheduled surgeries per day at ORMC. In addition to the planned procedures, it is not uncommon for 10 or more emergency same day surgery cases to be added to the schedule.

 

"As a Level One Trauma Center new cases are added throughout the day at any given time,” Sherry said. “When emergent surgeries are added to the schedule, it can change the timing of planned procedures or result in delays in getting these added surgeries done in a timely manner. The new operating rooms will help keep planned surgeries on time and allow us to add cases without much adjustment to scheduling.”

 

With the additional operating rooms, ORMC will have 21 operating rooms.

 

State-of-the-art surgical systems such as the da Vinci® Xi™ Surgical System by Intuitive Surgical, and the Medtronic O-arm® Surgical Imaging System have been added to the new area. Surgeons use the da Vinci for minimally invasive surgeries in thoracic, bariatric, general surgery and other specialties. The da Vinci features a magnified three dimensional high-definition vision system and tiny wristed instruments that bend and rotate more than the human wrist. As a result, da Vinci allows surgeons to operate through just a few small incisions with enhanced vision, precision, dexterity and control.

 

Because of the small incisions, rather than large incisions, patients are generally able to recover faster and with fewer complications. The O-arm is a multi-dimensional surgical imaging platform that is designed for use in spine, orthopedic, and trauma-related surgeries. It provides real-time, intra-operative imaging of a patient's anatomy with high quality images and a large field-of-view in both two and three dimensions.

 

In addition to the surgical systems and surgical imaging systems technology, the operating rooms are also fitted with video integration technology. Video integration technology allows clinicians to broadcast surgeries from the operating rooms to conference room settings for teaching purposes.

 

The Post Anesthesia Care Unit is a specialized patient care unit that provides care for patients following surgery. In the unit, vital signs are monitored and pain management begins along with other monitoring and care needs before the patient is admitted to their next patient care unit.

 

In addition to the new operating rooms, advanced technology, and Post Anesthesia Care Unit, the surgical services expansion and renovation will include an expanded Pre-Operative Care Unit and new Endoscopy Care Unit. The two new units will be completed later this year.

 

The Surgical Services expansion and renovation is part of the South Expansion phase of the ORMC Redesign and Renovation Project. Other areas to be completed by summer include cardiovascular and laboratory services areas. Also part of the project, the new Emergency Department opened in April and the ORMC North Tower opened in January. The project is designed to enhance the quality of care, reinforce safety for patients and caregivers, and heighten patient satisfaction. The entire redesign and renovation project, an estimated cost of $297 million, represents one of the largest and most significant projects in the organization’s history.