Surgical advances of today and tomorrow require the most up-to-date operating rooms providing surgical teams with a state-of-the-art surgical environment to deliver safe, quality, world-class patient care.
In March, Baystate Medical Center (BMC) will unveil its new operating rooms and interventional suites of the future featuring the latest technological advances. The new space allows BMC to streamline the location and patient flow and provide larger space for surgery and procedures.
The $170M project, which replaces operating rooms built 40 years ago in the hospital’s Daly Building, is a buildout of unfinished space for future plans after Baystate’s “Hospital of the Future” was built in 2012.
New Features
At a glance: the 72,000-square-foot facility will feature:
- 24 total operating rooms, twice the size of the former rooms, four of which already existed
- 8 total heart and vascular and neurology interventional procedure rooms
- 80 total prep/recovery bays. 60 new bays built and 20 pre-existing
“For over a century, patients throughout western Massachusetts and beyond have entrusted Baystate Health with their care. Our new operating rooms and interventional suites will allow us to build a strong future that supports the technical and clinical advances in the ever-changing world of surgery,” said Mark A. Keroack, MD, MPH, president and CEO of Baystate Health.
“I am grateful to our many health care team members who brought their dedication and expertise to every area of planning for the new operating rooms and interventional suites from design to execution, and to the many construction workers who were provided jobs during this enormous multi-year project,” he added.
Designed for Safety, Quality, and Patient Experience
Every year some 29,000 patients undergo surgery at Baystate Medical Center, more than any hospital in western Massachusetts. The update will improve all rooms used for inpatient surgeries that involve an overnight stay - including cancer surgery, cardiac surgery, neurosurgery, gynecologic surgery, major gastrointestinal surgery, robotic surgery, vascular, total joint replacement surgery, and orthopedic trauma and general trauma surgery.
“The Baystate Medical campus operating and procedure rooms have been built to provide the best environment for our providers and staff to support patient- and family-centered care safely and with the highest quality,” said Sheldrick Streete, COO of Baystate Medical Center and vice president, Hospital Operations, Baystate Health. “Everyone who has been involved in the planning and design and those who will operationalize the space have been focused on ensuring our patients have a great experience and the best possible outcome.”
The interventional suites will meet the needs of cardiac and neurological procedures. New state-of-the-art imaging and catheter-based technology will be implemented to minimize open surgery and to optimize procedures that involve the heart and brain.
“The new interventional suites will enable us to keep up with all of the changes in cardiology, including the growth in structural heart cases, including the replacement of aortic, mitral, pulmonic and tricuspid valves through procedures significantly less invasive than open heart surgery. This results in lower lengths of stay, less complications, less pain, and better outcomes for our patients,” said Paul Hocking, director, Heart and Vascular Service Line, Baystate Health.
The eight new labs are all state-of-the art in imaging, delivering better quality images while reducing the exposure to radiation, both to the catheterization lab team and patients. The new labs also have integrated the hospitals’ imaging storage into the procedure rooms, allowing the cardiologist to integrate multiple images from CT, MRI, and echocardiogram with the fluoroscopy images during the case. New software upgrades also allow for the 3D construction of models of the heart and brain, giving the physicians access to tools not previously thought capable. The hospital has also invested in the newest electrophysiology software allowing for the more accurate diagnosis and treatment of abnormalities in the electrical conduction of the heart.
The design of the modern, new facility also includes a more convenient and comfortable space near the operating rooms and interventional suites for patients, families, support partners and others, including private adjacent consultation rooms where doctors can meet and update those waiting to learn the condition of their loved one. And, for those anxiously waiting for news about the patient, there will be enhanced patient and family communication via new electronic communication boards in the waiting area, as well as the introduction of a text message-based app that will track patient progress through care and provide up-to-date information to designated loved ones during their procedure.
Also, pre- and post-op space has been designed to provide more privacy for the patient and better accommodate families, caregivers and significant others to be present during those phases of care.
The state-of-the-art facility will also enhance Baystate’s ability to attract the best and brightest surgeons, interventional cardiologists, and neurology interventionalists, as well as nurses, technologists, and other care team members, noted Dr. Nicolas Jabbour, chair, Department of Surgery at Baystate Health.
“As an academic medical center, Baystate Health has a long history of training the next generation of surgeons. The newer and larger operating and procedure spaces, incorporating the latest technology to perform the most complex of cases, will further serve to attract medical students to complete their surgical residencies at Baystate. Many of these surgeons also choose to remain at Baystate once their residency is completed,” he said.
Benefits to Patients & Clinicians
Decreased Wait Times
Expanded space in the pre- and post-procedure areas will improve the progress of patients throughout their care and reduce patient waiting times. There will also be a control desk that monitors each room so teams know which are finishing up and which are beginning procedures, streamlining the entire process.
Updated Imaging Systems and Technology
The new rooms will have a HexaVue Video Integration System that allows images from all the medical imaging equipment to be displayed in multiple locations throughout the room and will capture images and video during the procedures. The system will also have video collaboration conferencing capabilities for clinical staff and students to view procedures live. Updated equipment will aid minimally invasive and robotic surgery procedures, resulting in fewer complications and quicker recovery times.
Larger Operating Rooms and Interventional Suites
As Baystate’s cardiology and neurology interventional programs have grown, so has the need for additional equipment and space and larger space needed to perform joint replacement and robotic surgery. The new procedure rooms will be large enough to take advantage of the latest technological advances and optimize the care of our patients.
Close Proximity for Emergency Procedure Use
The upgrade will co-locate the new operating rooms, heart and vascular operating rooms and critical care beds with the Emergency Department (ED) nearby. This decreases the transport time from the ED to OR for procedures for patients who are experiencing a heart attack, stroke or trauma. Also, the Sterile Processing Department will be right below for easy transport of OR equipment and tools.
Enhancements in Environmental Cleanliness
Significant improvements have been built into the new operating and procedure rooms. Each new suite includes UV405 germicidal lighting. When there are no occupants in the room, the room lights shift into the purple UV405 mode and remain active as long as the room is unoccupied. UV405 lighting inactivates multiple species of bacteria, fungi and some viruses. This improvement will make our operating and procedure rooms even safer for patient care.
The Future of Surgery at Baystate Medical Center
For the past several months teams have been training on the new technology and running simulations in the new space in preparation for going live on March 13. The operating rooms and interventional suites of the future have arrived today at Baystate Medical Center, and the impact on patient care will be felt by all who rely on the hospital for the most advanced patient surgical and interventional procedures.