At least not yet.
Emerging surgical devices and techniques have traditionally been
trialed in large academic systems like Stanford and, once proven
safe and effective, gradually shifted from inpatient ORs to outpatient
facilities.
"But that paradigm is changing," says Dr. Tingwald. The surgeon-
turned-architect has a unique perspective on how to build and outfit
state-of-the-art surgical facilities. "The line between inpatient and out-
patient ORs is continually blurred and minimally invasive surgery is
becoming even less invasive. That's why groundbreaking technologies
are being introduced and developed in the outpatient setting."
In the following pages, you'll read about some of those important
clinical advances — devices and solutions that let surgeons operate
more effectively through smaller incisions, enhance the views of criti-
cal anatomy, help prevent canceled cases and ensure a surgeon's pre-
ferred instruments are always on hand — but don't ignore the intangi-
ble benefits of filling your facility with hot technologies. Sitting on the
cutting edge of care creates a buzz within your walls and throughout
your community.
Just ask Annilyn Donnell, BSN, RN, vice president of patient servic-
es at Baylor Scott & White Health Medical Center in Temple, Texas.
She can hardly contain her excitement when discussing the health
system's brand new Grobowsky Surgical Center, a 147,000-square-foot
facility that's opening its doors this month.
Ms. Donnell says the center's 10 new ORs will be "best in class"
and 725 square feet, plenty big enough to house the equipment
that's needed to perform procedures that are growing in complexi-
ty: ENT image-guided systems, C-arms and robotic platforms that
help orthopods make perfect cuts in bone and provide general sur-
geons with 360 degrees of maneuverability during abdominal and
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