Worth the Whirlwind

My staff and I are just catching our breath after the completion of a 13-month expansion of our multispecialty surgery center — a whirlwind process that presented a host of challenges, including the loss of an OR during most of the project and a raging global pandemic. For many leaders of ASCs and HOPDs, shepherding a construction project through from start to finish is one of the most daunting prospects they can imagine. But as someone who just went through the process, please believe me when I tell you: It’s well worth it in the end.

When the renovation wrapped up in November 2021, we added 7,500 square feet of space, more than doubled our case volume from pre-project levels and gave our loyal staff a new and expansive cafeteria that was worlds better than the previous space they had for their well-deserved breaks.

The timing of the project is extra special for our organization. This year we’re celebrating our 50th anniversary, and the types of procedures our surgeons perform have changed drastically since we began our journey. When the building we just renovated was first built, the procedure areas were filled with relatively minor cases such as colonoscopies and ENT and ophthalmic surgeries, all of which required very little equipment. Over the past decade, however, we’ve started performing more spine and orthopedic cases, both of which require trays of complex instrumentation and the latest in surgical technologies. Facing an overwhelmed sterile processing department and a too-cramped OR that simply couldn’t accommodate the space needed for cases that require robots, multiple staff members and various computer equipment and devices, the expansion needed to happen when it did — pandemic or not (see “Growth Is the Goal”).

The overall success of a surgical construction project almost always comes down to the partnership you form with the company charged with building or expanding the space in which your team performs life-changing surgeries. We were extremely fortunate in this regard. Our team of contractors — especially the fabulous project manager who led our effort — walked us through every step of the process and was meticulous about the infection control mitigation needed when construction was occurring right next to the ORs where our surgeons were still working.

The overall success of a surgical construction project almost always comes down to the partnership you form with the contractor building or expanding the space in which your team performs life-changing surgeries.

From understanding the intricacies of our HVAC system and seamlessly blending the old unit with the new one to ensure that working in one section of the building wasn’t doing damage to another space — no small feat when you’re dealing with a decades-old structure — our project partner did it all. Plus, the professionalism of the subcontractors our partner brought in was remarkable. There were many instances where they walked past our patients to respect their privacy and interacted with our staff. I received multiple compliments on just how easy it was to work with them.

Inside this Special Edition on Surgical Construction, you’ll read about the lessons I learned during our center’s expansion and what it takes to outfit a facility for spine, ortho and GI cases. You’ll also get design tips from the pros and find out how integrated ORs can be a game-changing investment for forward-thinking facilities. Hopefully, these articles resonate and provide some insight into a key aspect of growth in our ever-evolving industry. 

Whether you’re building a brand-new facility or expanding an existing one, I hope the result of your project is as rewarding for your team as our expansion was for us. OSM