NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue Opens New Same-Day Surgery Unit
New unit includes 14 medical bays that can be transformed into ICUs and
two procedure rooms for eye surgeries that can accommodate more than 50 patients per day
Friends and family of same-day surgery patients can easily track their
status via waiting room kiosks or mobile tablet
Aug 09, 2021
NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue today announced it has opened its Same-Day Surgery Unit with state-of-the-art technology that will enable doctors, nurses, social workers, and other staff to provide advanced support services for patients, promoting a speedy recovery and allowing patients to go home the same day. The Same-Day Surgery Unit includes 14 medical bays that can be transformed into Intensive Care Units (ICUs), and two new procedure rooms for eye surgeries, allowing providers to treat more than 50 patients a day. In addition to new surgery accommodations, friends and family of same-day surgery patients can easily track their status via new waiting room kiosks and mobile tablets with special access through the patient’s patient portal account, MyChart. The new Same-Day Surgery Unit at NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue builds upon the public health system’s ongoing efforts to increase access to necessary specialty and surgical services.
“The Same-Day Surgery Unit represents Bellevue’s commitment and dedication to always improving care for all who come through our doors,” said NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue CEO William Hicks. “Not only will the addition of this new unit help ensure a life-improving procedure and speedy recovery for each patient, but it will ease some of the stress endured by their loved ones.”
In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Same-Day Surgery Unit was designed so that the medical bays and procedure rooms can be easily converted to negative pressure rooms, in the event space is needed to treat patients with COVID-19 or other diseases transmissible through air particles.
“The Same-Day Surgery Unit provides an all-inclusive, one-stop service experience for the patient,” said Christopher Roberson, Director of Contracts at NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue and supervisor of the unit’s construction. “Some of the state-of-the-art technology in this unit will be used for the first time at Bellevue, while some of the technology already utilized is being improved to further help accommodate the patient and their families.”
“The same day unit has been transformative for patients and providers,” said NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue Chief of Perioperative Services Manish Parikh, MD. “It allows patients to check in on the same floor as the procedure and it facilitates better communication between the providers and the patients’ loved ones.”
Prior to the new Same-Day Surgery Unit, patients were transported to different units, often on different floors for different phases of care, which was exhausting to the patient and time consuming for care providers. Now, the Same-Day Surgery Unit is located on the same floor as the operating suites. The convenience of providing pre- and post-operative care on the same floor as the surgery will expedite procedures and recovery.
Providers are able to perform procedures in multiple medical disciplines from the following departments in the new surgery unit, including:
- General Surgery
- Podiatry
- Orthopedics
- Plastics
- GYN
- Urology
- Dental
- Oral Surgery
- Breast
- Surgical Oncology
- Otorhinolaryngology
- Vascular
- Colorectal
- Bariatric
- Hand Services
- Cardiothoracic Surgery
- Neurosurgery
The Same-Day Surgery Unit also provides care for non-surgical procedures in Interventional Radiology, MRI and CAT Scans, Cardiac Catherization and Ablation for patients.
Friends and family can easily track their loved one’s status with special “Friends and Family Access” via their patient portal account on MyChart, or by following updates on a display board in the waiting area that tracks patients by their case number. Additional mobile tablet devices will be made available in the waiting area.
This project was a collaborative effort from teams in Facilities Management, Department of Medicine, Department of Nursing and Intensive Care Unit.