A U G U S T 2 0 1 9 • O U T PA T I E N T S U R G E R Y. N E T • 1 1
C
hildren at
Roxana Cannon
Arsht
Surgicenter in
Wilmington, Del., were
so stressed saying good-
bye to their parents
before heading to the
operating room for den-
tal procedures that they
sometimes needed oral
premedication to deal
with the separation, says
anesthesiologist Stephen
R. Tanner, MD. Now it's
all smiles on the way to
surgery since the center
bought child-size electric
vehicles that the kids
ride in from the waiting
room to the operating room. Like magic, scenes of crying children and
parents turned into smiling parents taking photos of happy kids in a
white BMW convertible or a blue Jeep tricked out with radios and
flashing lights down the center's hallway. It's worked so well that the
Christina Care Health System surgery center recently added a firetruck
and a black Jeep to its fleet. More importantly, says Dr. Tanner, only 8%
of pediatric patients require pre-operative sedation, down from 28%.
— Adam Taylor
KIDS DRIVE THEMSELVES
Turn Left at the OR
• CRUISING TO SURGERY A young patient drives himself to the operating room
at Roxana Cannon Arsht Surgicenter, with remote-controlled help from anesthe-
siologist Stephen R. Tanner, MD.
Christiana
Care
Health
System
