Outpatient Surgery Magazine, providing current information on Surgical Services, Surgical Facility Administration, Outpatient Surgery News and Trends, OR Excellence and more.
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OSE_1309_part2_Layout 1 9/6/13 3:26 PM Page 59 2013 Awards TIME IS MONEY Harnessing the Power of Efficiency E fficiency and health care tend to be uneasy partners at best, but at the Surgery Center of Oklahoma, efficiency is the fuel that powers the idea. To deliver high quality at remarkably low prices, efficiency is crucial. It's why nurses who see inefficiency in the OR are told to SKIN IN THE GAME Staff members earn quarterly bonuses based on the center's produc- speak up. It's why items don't get opened unless they're going to be used. It's why "upper management" consists of 2 anesthesiologists who are on site every day, who watch surgeons closely and freely critique them. It's why staff are given quarterly bonuses based on the center's productivity. It's not that complicated if your priorities are aligned, says co-founder Keith Smith, MD. "We've worked hard to identify the things that surgeons love, and we do all those things. And we've identified the things that they hate and we have tried very, very hard to eliminate those things. With turnover times, we have the schedule blocked out so almost all of the time, every surgeon has 2 rooms and 2 crews and 2 anesthesia personnel. So they just go room to room, and it's fast. If you gang up on them like that, you can always stay ahead." Contentment breeds efficiency, too, so the center places a high priority on how employees treat — and are treated by — each other. "One thing you'll notice about this place," says Marilyn Robertson, RN, the center's director of nursing, "is there's very little turnover. That's because there's not a whole lot of upper management, and the people in management are here on a daily basis. They see what needs to happen and how the staff is treated. We're more like a family here." As family members, they have each other's backs. A surgeon who mistreats a staff member is likely to earn a quick ticket out. "If a surgeon is really mean to one of my nurses or scrub techs and makes them want to quit, there are 41 other [partners] who want to go string that surgeon up," says Dr. Smith. "Because that staff member might be their favorite person in the [operating] room. We just don't let guys like that work here. ... I don't want my reputation tarnished. I do not want to be associated with someone who's either incompetent or unethical." — Jim Burger S E P T E M B E R 2013 | O U T PAT 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 5 9