By David Glick
Many more patients will be able to undergo surgery — and get their procedures done more quickly and conveniently — with the construction of City of Hope’s new Outpatient Surgery Center, which began Dec. 1.
 Surgeons tour spartan surroundings that will become a modern outpatient surgical facility. (Photo by Fred Lee) |
City of Hope physicians, leaders, nurses and other staff recently gathered at the Michael Amini Transfusion Medicine Center to kick off the creation of the new facility located on the Amini Center’s third floor. Scheduled to open in August 2011, the 20,000-square-foot space will be transformed into an efficient center that will significantly increase outpatient surgical capacity.
“The creation of this very functional and patient-friendly facility has been a culmination of the past two years of planning,” says Julio Garcia-Aguilar, M.D., Ph.D., professor and chair of the Department of Surgery. “The center will meet our needs for the next decade and beyond.”
Outpatient surgical procedures include endoscopies, biopsies, lumpectomies and plastic and reconstructive surgeries. Surgeons currently conduct these outpatient procedures within two surgical suites and two procedure rooms in City of Hope Helford Clinical Research Hospital. Patients also undergo installation of vascular access ports for chemotherapy in these suites.
The number of patients turning to City of Hope for outpatient surgery far outweighs the current space, however. The new outpatient center will double the number of outpatient surgery and procedure rooms from four to eight.
Once finished, the center will accommodate as many as 50 endoscopies and 25 minor surgical procedures per day, as well as vascular access input procedures, said Garcia-Aguilar. The move also will open up additional operating rooms for inpatients in Helford Hospital.
City of Hope surgeons currently perform between 25 to 50 outpatient cases each week; the new facility will allow surgeons to perform the same number of cases in one day.
Shirley Johnson, R.N., chief nursing and patient services officer, said the center will provide an elegant patient experience. “The new outpatient surgery center will provide a warm and comfortable setting for our patients and their family members and for the nurses, surgeons and support staff who will work there,” she said. She also noted that the north-facing, windowed family waiting area will offer views of the San Gabriel Mountains.
“We are seeing our vision become a reality,” she added.
The Amini Center has already set new building standards on campus and has been awarded a silver leadership in energy and environmental design (LEED) certification rating by the U.S. Green Building Council for its water and energy efficiency, materials and site selection and other environmentally friendly factors.
