1 4 • O U T PA T I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E • S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 6
T
he young
orthopods are
bringing lots of
complex cases to your
facility, but they're
booking them later in
the day, sometimes not
starting a 4-hour rotator
cuff reconstruction, for
example, until 3 p.m.
This puts the patient in
recovery until 8 p.m.,
and staff who clocked in at 6 a.m. — and haven't had any relief —
aren't heading home until 9 p.m.
It's a good problem to have, says Michealena Grangruth, CASC, the
administrator of the Blue Springs Surgery Center in Orange City, Fla.,
but it's putting a strain on her facility. "They're good cases and the
patients have great outcomes," she says, "but do you really want to
send your patient home in the dark?"
Bound by their morning clinic schedules and their overnight trauma
call, orthopods are more likely than other surgeons to schedule longer
and more complex cases later in the afternoon, says Ms. Grangruth.
"We have tried to get them to start earlier, but they can't and we don't
have 23-hour stay in Florida. The latest we would ever want to start a
case is no later than 4 p.m., but we would prefer 3 p.m."
Her solutions: Offer the new "heavy hitters" earlier blocks and add
PRN nurses to work some afternoon shifts to help cover the later
cases so she doesn't overwhelm her small staff.
When to Start the Last Case of the Day?
• HOW LATE IS TOO LATE? Surgeons who book cases later in the day can put a strain on your staff.
Ideas Work
That