law, patients can stay 24, 48 or 72 hours.
"We call it a recovery center, which makes it sound like it's in a sep-
arate building, but it's through 2 sets of doors and down a hallway,"
says Jennifer Arellano, CASC, the director of operations at Pinnacle 3,
which manages the Orthopedic & Spine Center of Southern Colorado
in Pueblo, 1 of 11 Colorado ASCs licensed as a convalescence center
that can admit patients for multiple-night stays.
Though it can keep patients for up to 72 hours, the average length of
stay is 1 overnight, says Ms. Arellano. Roughly 30 patients a month
stay over in 1 of 9 private rooms Monday through Wednesday (closed
on weekends) under the supervision of at least 2 members of a dedi-
cated recovery center nursing staff: a registered nurse, always pres-
ent, joined by either a certified nurse aide or medical assistant.
Surgeons inform the ASC when they want a patient kept overnight
and how long they anticipate the patient staying. "The ability to send
patients to the recovery center does not lower our ASC's standards
for patient selection criteria," says Ms. Arellano. "We do not risk
patient safety solely to increase volume."
On this day, 3 overnight cases are on the schedule, a couple of total
knees, but first an 8:30 a.m. spinal fusion. If all goes as planned, the
patient will be home by lunchtime … tomorrow. She'll spend about 3
hours in surgery and 2 hours in recovery. After she's discharged from
PACU, she'll be wheeled to the recovery center (which must have a
license, entrance, waiting room, and medical records system separate
from the ASC) and admitted around 1 p.m. to her room.
Room amenities include: private bathroom, closet space, TV, pullout
chair a family member can sleep on and a gorgeous window view of
the mountains. Meals are served and visitors are welcomed most of the
day. The patient will order a late lunch — or an early dinner — off a
menu from a licensed food vendor that delivers. (There's no kitchen in
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