By Kathy Varney
Patients will appreciate the added comfort and new design of the 7,000-square-foot first-floor operating suite expansion, now open at Surgery Center Cedar Rapids.
Located at 1075 First Ave. SE, the Surgery Center is a designated ambulatory surgery facility that also partners with UnityPoint Health – St. Luke’s Hospital and more than 100 Cedar Rapids physicians to serve Eastern Iowans.
“It was designed around convenience,” said Scott Kallemeyn, executive director of Surgery Center Cedar Rapids, noting that the first-floor facility better accommodates those with ambulatory restrictions or challenges.
The Surgery Center, which opened in 2003, provides ambulatory surgeries that range from 30 minutes to three hours (not including preparation and recovery time). The types of procedures performed include colonoscopies, cataract and orthopedic surgeries, tonsillectomies and other “routine” types of surgeries, according to Mr. Kallemeyn. Surgery Center Cedar Rapids has seen a tremendous growth in these kinds of outpatient surgeries, and the new first-floor facility will now help with that growing need.
“We have been seeing growth over the past 12-16 months, so we wanted to accommodate that growth,” he said.
In addition to the number of new patients, the Surgery Center has added seven additional staff members, including both operating room and prep and recovery nurses.
The $3.2 million expansion includes a comfortable waiting/reception area with covered parking and patient drop-off, 12 new patient/preparation rooms, two operating rooms, storage, and a separate sterile environment room for the surgical instruments.
With the knowledge that a patient’s environment affects healing, soft lighting and warm colors have been incorporated to help lessen the anxiety for patients. “We want our patients to feel comfortable,” Mr. Kallemeyn said.
The new prep rooms are larger and will accommodate a family member before and after surgery. “The patient recovers there as well, so the family can stay right there the entire time,” he said.
Although it just opened Aug. 13, Mr. Kallemeyn said he’s already gotten a lot of positive feedback. “Our physicians and nurses like it, and patients have remarked how nice it looks.”
“It’s great to have the project complete,” said Kelly Kray, director of nursing with Surgery Center Cedar Rapids. “The extra capacity was needed and our patients appreciate the improvements.”
The new prep area, which is built on a “racetrack” design, circles around the nurses’ station, so each patient room can be seen and monitored more easily from the main station. Automated entrances to the operating rooms allow quicker and quieter movement of patients to and from the operating rooms, adding an element of comfort and eliminating disturbances for other patients in recovery.
As for future expansion, Mr. Kallemeyn said the center’s options are somewhat limited in the current space, but noted that the recently finished expansion will help accommodate the growing number of people needing these types of surgeries.
“With the changes in health care and health insurance, and more patients paying out of pocket expenses, they are looking for more affordability,” Mr. Kallemeyn said. It saves time and money, and there isn’t a need and additional cost to stay overnight, he added.
“Focusing on these kinds of specialty surgeries allows for about 20 percent to 40 percent lower costs for our patients,” Mr. Kallemeyn said. Surgeries there also help ease the number of outpatient surgeries that are done at St. Luke’s Hospital.
Surgery Center Cedar Rapids is open from 6 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. The organization has been accredited by the Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care since opening in 2003.
