Surgery Center busy, growing

"A really delightful surprise," said Surgery Manager Kim Oja, "is how well the flow functions in the Surgery Center. It is beautifully designed."

Since the Surgery Center opened in late February, Oja has had many opportunities to see the system in action. The center has been busy, with full joint replacement, ACL (knee tendon) reconstruction, fractured hip repairs, shoulder scopes, cataract removal and endoscopies among other procedures.

Yet with all the activity, Oja pointed out, it has been a priority to maintain a patient comfort level, even to making sure each patient has a warm bowl of soup during recovery.

"It's an important part of our attitude toward our patients," she explained. "We say: 'We want to take care of you and know you.'"

To create this comfortable atmosphere, Oja relies on a 12 member staff, including eight nurses, two scrub techs and two sterile processing techs. A scrub tech is an operating room assistant who hands needed instruments to the surgeon, and a sterile processing tech is in charge of the one-way flow of equipment through the sterilization system following surgery.

It's a staff which has embraced the challenge of learning the state of the art technology incorporated into the center while keeping the patient foremost. And it's a staff of which Oja is extremely proud.

"I'm constantly surprised at the ability of the staff to be flexible and accommodate whatever the day may bring," she said.

One thing that may be constantly changing is the schedule. Oja bases the day's surgery schedule on averages: for instance, a knee scope usually takes about 1.5 hours. But surgeries don't always follow averages. Individual surgeries may take a longer or shorter time.

A patient is usually asked to arrive at the Surgery Center about an hour before the scheduled start time. That time is used for pre-op assessments and preparation, and the start of an IV. Sometimes it includes a visit to the laboratory or physical therapy. Visitors are usually allowed in the day surgery room before surgery and during recovery. Still, Oja recommends patients bring a good book or crossword puzzle along in case the schedule is delayed.

The Surgery Center recently welcomed a new specialty as Dr. Larry Strong began treating urology cases. He joins six other surgeons who currently practice at the Center.

The Surgery Center has two fully equipped, state of the art operating rooms, seven prep/recovery day surgery rooms, a post anesthesia recovery unit, a treatment room, an endoscopy room and a family waiting room, as well as medical support areas. The center is open from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. and can be contacted at (218) 743-4135.

The physician schedule currently includes:

• Dr. Dan Baker (orthopaedics) of Northern Pines Orthopaedic Clinic has a clinic every Thursday with surgeries every Tuesday.
• Dr. J.W. Burnett and Dr. Leo Hise (orthopaedics) of Northern Pines Orthopaedic Clinic schedule surgeries as needed.
• Dr. Michael Baich (Baich Clinic) schedules general surgery, clinic appointments and endoscopies every Thursday and Friday mornings.
• Dr. Dan Margo (Itasca Surgical Clinic) schedules general surgery, clinic appointments and endoscopies monthly on a Monday.
• Dr. Tim Bonner (Bonner Eye Clinic) schedules cataract surgery monthly on Thursday and clinic appointments on the following Friday.
• Dr. Larry Strong (Fairview Mesaba-Hibbing Clinic) initial schedules urology surgeries and clinic appointments monthly on the first Monday.