Stanford University Medical Center is one of the best teaching hospitals in the nation and renowned for providing innovative surgical care. It attracts top docs — and patients who want to be treated by them — because, well, it's Stanford. "Surgeons come here because we've earned the reputation of performing procedures that aren't done in community facilities," says George Tingwald, MD, AIA, ACHA, the health's system's director of medical planning, design and construction.

At least not yet.

Emerging surgical devices and techniques have traditionally been trialed in large academic systems like Stanford and, once proven safe and effective, gradually shifted from inpatient ORs to outpatient facilities.

"But that paradigm is changing," says Dr. Tingwald. The surgeon-turned-architect has a unique perspective on how to build and outfit state-of-the-art surgical facilities. "The line between inpatient and outpatient ORs is continually blurred and minimally invasive surgery is becoming even less invasive. That's why groundbreaking technologies are being introduced and developed in the outpatient setting."

In the following pages, you'll read about some of those important clinical advances — devices and solutions that let surgeons operate more effectively through smaller incisions, enhance the views of critical anatomy, help prevent canceled cases and ensure a surgeon's preferred instruments are always on hand — but don't ignore the intangible benefits of filling your facility with hot technologies. Sitting on the cutting edge of care creates a buzz within your walls and throughout your community.

Just ask Annilyn Donnell, BSN, RN, vice president of patient services at Baylor Scott & White Health Medical Center in Temple, Texas. She can hardly contain her excitement when discussing the health system's brand new Grobowsky Surgical Center, a 147,000-square-foot facility that's opening its doors this month.

Ms. Donnell says the center's 10 new ORs will be "best in class" and 725 square feet, plenty big enough to house the equipment that's needed to perform procedures that are growing in complexity: ENT image-guided systems, C-arms and robotic platforms that help orthopods make perfect cuts in bone and provide general surgeons with 360 degrees of maneuverability during abdominal and urology procedures. The anesthesia machines will sit next to automated medication dispensing cabinets, which add another layer to medication safety protocols.

Ms. Donnell's praise of the facility doesn't stop at the OR doors. "The new sterile processing space is a sight to behold," she says. "It's large enough to store the additional instrument sets we need to perform more involved procedures and is outfitted with automated lifts, which eliminate the risk of our reprocessing techs suffering strain injuries when they're loading and unloading instrument trays from washers and sterilizers."

Traditional inpatient ORs are being replaced with outpatient rooms that can support new surgical techniques and technologies. It's a continuing evolution that coincides with the growing trend of bringing complex surgeries to population centers instead of requiring patients to travel to big city health systems for cutting-edge care.

Groundbreaking technologies are being introduced and developed in the outpatient setting.

"You can often get the same level of treatment in suburban New Jersey that you would in Midtown Manhattan," says Dr. Tingwald.

Patients are beginning to take notice. Health systems are, too. Baylor Scott & White-Temple is hundreds of miles away from Dallas, Houston and San Antonio, but that didn't stop its leaders from recognizing the importance of upgrading its ORs. The new center with the state-of-the-art technology was strategically positioned on the health system's campus to serve as the symbolic front door of the hospital, according to Ms. Donnell.

She says Baylor Scott & White has held several open house events as the project neared completion to give the public an opportunity to tour the new space and get a sneak peek at the high-tech facility.

"We're investing in the future of surgery and we want to show the community what we're able to do for them, to give them confidence that their local hospital can provide innovative care," she says. "That has been an amazing experience."

Leadership at Baylor Scott & White had more than wowing patients in mind when they decided to add new technologies, according to Ms. Donnell. She says staff and surgeon retention, especially in today's competitive healthcare landscape, were also key drivers of the new project. She says nurses can't wait to start working in the new space and surgical residents who trained at the health system are eager to return after completing their fellowship training at facilities across the country.

"They'll bring back new ideas about how technology can help us perform safer and more effective surgery."

Baylor Scott & White's investment in innovation will therefore continue to pay dividends, and the surgical evolution will continue. OSM