Smooth operator: Valley Baptist spends $10 million to upgrade surgical suites
Posted on August 26th, 2011 by Connor Ingle | Tags: Surgical, Valley Baptist
Valley Baptist Medical Center-Brownsville has completed work on new operating rooms hospital officials say will benefit patients in the region by offering a variety of surgical options, such as laparoscopic and other minimally-invasive surgeries.
The project included construction of four new surgery suites, renovation of four existing operating rooms, a new day surgery unit with six private rooms and 14 semi-private rooms, a special room for urology procedures, the addition of pre-operative holding rooms, and a new nine-bed, post-anesthesia care unit where patients recover after surgery.
The new surgery area also features high-definition monitors, new anesthesia machines and new Steris LED lights, which are brighter than conventional operating room lights and generate almost no heat. “LED” stands for “Light Emitting Diode.”
Connie Clavo, a registered nurse and clinical supervisor for surgical services at VBMC-Brownsville, said the new surgery area is designed for quicker and easier patient flow. The operating rooms are also larger than the old ones, she said.
Laparoscopic surgery, which is becoming more common in operating rooms across the country, uses very small incisions through which the surgeon inserts a telescopic lens. The lens is connected to a video camera that feeds to an HD monitor the surgeon watches during the procedure. Through other small incisions the surgeon places slender, specialized clamps and other instruments. The technique eliminates the need to for large incisions for the surgeon to view the operation. Since the incisions are smaller, patients often experience less pain and are able to be discharged from the hospital sooner.
VBMC officials say the operating room upgrades means Brownsville-area patients will have to travel less often to Houston, San Antonio or other cities for medical procedures.
Earlier this year children’s services at VBMC-Brownsville received a major upgrade. The hospital spent $465,000 replacing the pediatric unit’s outmoded, semi-private rooms with eight child-friendly private rooms. That project also included a playroom for young patients well enough to get out of bed, and the dedication of two rooms as a “step down unit,” which provides a level of care between a regular hospital room and an ICU unit.
Renovation and construction on the new surgical suites took about three years to complete and cost $10 million. At a dedication ceremony Aug. 10, VBMC-Brownsville CEO Leslie Bingham said the surgical suite project was undertaken because of “Valley Baptist’s belief in our Brownsville hospital and commitment to our community.”
VMBC’s Brownsville and Harlingen campuses merged with Nashville-based Vanguard Health System earlier this year.
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