October 17, 2024

Performance Health Surgery Center is built to evolve over time as well as pivot to address short-term needs.

READY FOR TAKEOFF The high ceiling of the waiting area at Performance Health Surgery Center, inspired by planes taking off at a nearby airport, features strategically hung lighting fixtures that reduce its scale, helping patients and their caregivers feel both inspired and cozy. | Hardaway | Sziabowski Architects

To stay competitive over time, it helps if the ASC you build today can grow and change to fit the evolving needs of patients and surgical teams years down the road. Performance Health Surgery Center in Fort Myers, Fla., is one such ASC. Equipped to handle outpatient orthopedic, spine and total joints cases today, it’s strategically designed to expand to accommodate the needs of tomorrow.

The four-OR multispecialty ASC is a 14,700-square-foot space housed in a 17,000-square-foot medical building. However, the surgery center was strategically designed by veteran firm Hardaway | Sziabowski Architects of Newton, Mass., to include expansion space for adding not only additional ORs, procedure rooms and recovery spaces, but also an extended care center for overnight stays. The ASC even retains the option of leasing the extra space to another tenant.

The ORs, two at 600 square feet and two at 400 square feet, are equipped with state-of-the-art capital equipment and connection capabilities. The racetrack style pre-op/PACU is cleverly designed to enable all its stations to function as either pre-op or recovery stations depending on what is needed. The dual-function stations include curtained and semi-private bays as well as private rooms.

The ASC’s sterile processing and storage spaces are strategically arranged behind the ORs with connection to each of them. This provides a one-way traffic flow for efficient instrument prep and throughput, which enhances the center’s patient safety and infection prevention efforts.

The architectural firm wasn’t solely focused on expansion, adaptability and workflow, however. It also integrated high-concept, patient-pleasing design.

When the architects originally visited the facility site, they noticed it was in the flight path of the nearby regional airport. The jets soaring above oriented their design focus upward.

As a result, the ASC’s waiting room is a lofty double-height space with pendant lights intentionally suspended to help reduce patients’ perception of its scale, enhancing feelings of comfort while eliminating the feeling of sterile claustrophobia that characterizes many traditional waiting areas. Its soothing color palette adds to that warm, comfortable experience.

They can enhance not only surgical site infection prevention efforts, but also the patient experience.

SAFER AND CALMER The glass OR wall at Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center contains a nature mural that one surgeon says has calmed both patients and OR teams.

As part of the industry’s never-ending focus on surgical site infection prevention, even the walls of operating rooms are subject to intense scrutiny. Now, there’s a small but growing trend in OR design toward walls made of glass or even steel, instead of traditional materials such as drywall.

The infection prevention capabilities of glass- or steel-walled ORs, which have been popular in Europe for some time, are of growing interest to U.S. surgery centers, particularly those that perform total joints cases, which carry a significantly higher potential for surgical site infections when compared with other types of procedures.

Pomona (Calif.) Valley Hospital Medical Center (PVHMC) installed a glass-walled OR system in 2020. One of its surgeons says the glass walls, which contain a nature mural, not only address infection prevention, but also enhance the patient experience.

"Patients often tell us that entering an operating room feels dark and scary, and sometimes they are already anxious about their procedure," says Hrayr Basmajian, MD, medical director of orthopedic trauma at PVHMC. "With the new, modern glass OR and nature mural, it feels peaceful and calming."

The manufacturer of PVHMC’s glass OR wall claims the surface can fight off bacteria growth at a 99.9% efficiency rate. The OR also includes rounded corners that allow fewer places for bacteria to collect and hide, flush surfaces that can be easily and efficiently cleaned, and a powder coating that further resists harboring of infectious elements.

Another glass-walled OR opened last year at the UR Medicine Orthopaedics & Physical Performance Center in Rochester, N.Y. Because the walls were prefabricated and quickly attached once onsite, it made for a rapid build.

An additional infection prevention benefit of using glass or steel for OR walls is that they simply don’t get beat up and damaged over time like drywall can. Unlike drywall, there are no dings and cracks from equipment banging against them that must be filled and repainted so they don’t harbor infectious organisms.

Whether it’s a new build or a renovation, new and upgraded surgical services are possible with an experienced partner.

Credit: Stryker

Activity in the ambulatory surgery center (ASC) market continues apace as facility leaders and owners plan for new builds, renovations and upgrades in the coming year. Finding a dedicated industry partner is the first step in the process to ensure that every facility gets the customized attention it deserves to successfully launch new, cutting-edge surgical services for their communities.

Stryker is an industry partner in this specialized space and understands the challenges. Its experts deliver tailored solutions that offer the realization of a vision, faster and smarter, by working in partnership with outpatient leaders who are looking to the future. Stryker’s ASC business is incredibly specialized – just like ASCs – and offers access to a deep portfolio of products, a team who understand the ASC landscape and ongoing support that helps make building and growing in the ASC feel simple.

The first step is a listening and learning strategy that treats every facility as a special entity, one that balances a unique set of clinical, operational and financial circumstances. A partnership with Stryker offers a dedicated team that tailors a unique solution that will deliver an exceptional experience.

Whether starting a new build ASC or beginning an expansion project, Stryker’s team of experts will help guide you through the business challenges so you can dedicate full focus on patient care and the patient experience. Stryker offers flexible solutions to help ensure that the equipment and technology required to meet the needs of patients is in place.

To grow your business – whether it is an expansion, transitioning ownership or adding a sub-specialty – Stryker’s experts help navigate change. The critical steps to successful, sustained growth include regular business reviews to help evaluate current usage and future needs. The Stryker team also focuses on increasing product efficiency and eliminating downtime with its ProCare service solutions.

The road to evolution can be a challenging one, but with an experienced partner it can be a rewarding experience. Stryker’s ASC business has been involved with more than 13,990 projects across 22 procedure types, so this expert team brings a wealth of specialized knowledge and experience to every unique project.

Note: Learn more today at Ambulatory Surgery Center (ASC) | Stryker