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cal information and images. The new surgery center's integrated ORs will allow
for the sending of clinical data and images to monitors positioned at the sterile
field, so surgeons can make treatment decisions based on updated information
and proceed with surgery without leaving the OR table. "That integrated tech-
nology is what we need to speed access to information and improve communi-
cation among different providers within the hospital," says Ms. Muniz.
Fatigue mats placed over traditional OR floors improve staff and surgeon
comfort during long days of standing and operating. Ms. Nuss-baum says an
increasing number of facilities are opting to install a rubber sheet flooring,
which provides slight give to surgical team members who are on their feet all
day, and which is able to hold up well against the chemicals used to clean sur-
face areas between cases. Ms. Muniz says the walls of New York-Presbyterian's
new surgery center were constructed with modular stainless steel panels, which
can be refitted literally over a weekend to accommodate future technology
upgrades, such as larger high-definition video monitors. The walls are also easi-
er to clean between cases, says Ms. Muniz.
Some facilities also want to keep a group of standardized supplies stored in
the OR for easy access, but infection control concerns can arise, depending on a
surgical team's methodology for retrieving and handling items during cases. "We
instead like to build clean rooms adjacent to the ORs to keep often-needed sup-
plies," says Ms. Muniz.
Dream come true
Ms. Muniz also oversees 23 ORs in a building that's 20 years old, and 15 suites
embedded deep within a hospital that's been in service for almost half a century.
Now she's preparing to open the ORs in New York-Presbyterian's stunning new
surgery center. "We've been planning for this for a very long time," she says. "It's
become a labor of love that's finally starting to take shape."
OSM
