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S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 4 | O U T P AT I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E O N L I N E
BSM Surgery Center in Corvallis, Ore.
"I had never set up a center before," says Ms. Vahle. "They picked
out every piece of equipment they'd need, every medication in the for-
mulary."
Today, they help conduct mock codes such as malignant hyperther-
mia and lidocaine toxicity drills. They come in on their off days to
attend staff meetings, answer their cell phones at any hour and will
lend you a tractor. Wait, a tractor? "If you need them to," laughs Ms.
Vahle. "This is farm country."
Her surgery center started with a group of 9 anesthesiologists, some
of whom would sedate the same way, no matter which procedure
patients were undergoing. Patients would sometimes take longer to
wake up than the surgery lasted, which jammed up the recovery
room.
In the years since, Ms. Vahle and the center's physician-owners hand-
picked a core group of 5 providers who have the mindset to work in
ambulatory surgery. "They are proactive in ensuring patients are pain-
free and experience no [nausea or vomiting]" she says. "They have a
knack to manage anesthesia so patients are alert soon after they arrive
in recovery, and are ready to go home in a timely manner."
Her providers have achieved 99% positive ratings in patient satisfac-
tion surveys over the last 3 years. A Joint Commission surveyor
recently said he had never seen a more dedicated group. Their hand
hygiene practices are impeccable. They listen closely to breath
sounds, focus intently on airway assessments and perform detailed
pre-op assessments. Following notoriously painful ACL surgeries, 95%
of patients require no additional medication other than the femoral
and popliteal blocks the anesthesiologists administer.
You know those providers that you wouldn't want sedating your
family? (Yes, you do.) "There's not one here like that," says Ms. Vahle.
A N E S T H E S I A