October 6, 2006

Orthopædic Ambulatory Surgery Center opens in Waltham

Mass General West in Waltham has added orthopædic surgery to its many available services with the opening of its new, state-of-the-art Orthopædic Ambulatory Surgery Center (ASC).The facility, which opened this past August, brings the MGH's top-quality orthopædic care to a location convenient for residents west of Boston. The completion of the new center was celebrated at an open house Sept. 14.



From left, Edward Lawrence, chairman of the MGH Board of Trustees, Slavin, Torchiana, Gaynor and Rubash

With the opening of the ASC, routine surgery cases can be performed in the community, freeing up much-needed operating room space at the MGH main campus for more complicated cases. Four major areas of orthopædic care are covered at the center: sports medicine, hand, shoulder and foot and ankle. Some of the different types of procedures that can be performed there include rotator cuff repair, knee arthroscopy, simple fracture repair of feet and ankles, and carpal tunnel surgery. There are three active operating rooms, and a fourth will be added later this fall. Jeffrey Wilson, MD, serves as the medical director of the center and Claire O'Brien, RN, is the nurse manager.

"This new facility allows patients to receive top-notch care at a location that is more convenient for them," said Peter L. Slavin, MD, president of the MGH, at the open house. "They have the same access to the best clinicians and care that they would at the main campus of the hospital."

Increased efficiency is another major benefit of the new ASC. Because the operating rooms are in a contained, dedicated space, the team is able to transition from one case to another more quickly, at times in as few as 10 minutes. Additionally, elective surgeries can be added to the schedule with brief notice without affecting other procedures. "The space opens new horizons for the department in the sense that we will be able to increase capacity in a community-based, friendly environment," says Harry Rubash, MD, chief of Orthopædic Surgery. "Patients receive the same high-quality care from MGH doctors and nurses. It's also a wonderful opportunity to set up our own operating room specifically for orthopædic surgery using the latest technology."

The center is the result of years of careful planning and development by many individuals across the MGH. David Gaynor, executive director of Orthopædics;
Ann Prestipino, senior vice president for Surgical and Anesthesia Services and Clinical Business Development; and Rubash all played integral roles in developing and overseeing the opening of the center. Expert guidance during the planning stages also was provided by the ASC Medical Executive Committee, whose members are J.P. Warner, MD, chairman; Peter Dunn, MD; David Gaynor; Thomas Gill, MD; Jesse Jupiter, MD; Sang-Gil Lee, MD; Dawn Tenney, RN; and Bertram Zarins, MD. Important advisory roles also were played by Jeanette Ives Erickson, RN, MS, senior vice president for Patient Care Services and chief nurse; David Torchiana, MD, chief executive officer for the Massachusetts General Physicians Organization (MGPO); Warren Zapol, MD, chief of Anesthesia and Critical Care; Susan Moss, administrative director for Anesthesia; Dan Ginsburg, president and chief operating officer of the MGPO; and Sally Mason Boemer, vice president for Finance and
chief financial officer. The MGH Operating Rooms administrative team and the Same Day Surgical Unit nursing staff also were vital in preparing and training
the center's staff.

"The hospital and the physician organization worked closely to make this center work," says Gaynor. "We visited other ambulatory surgery centers and hired an experienced medical director, Dr. Jeffrey Wilson, and nurse manager Claire O'Brien, to run the center along with the ASC Medical Executive Committee. Virtually all of the departments at the hospital participated in the planning and implementation of the ASC. The institutional team effort has made the launch of the ASC a success."