PMC Debuts New Operating Room

Head Operating Room Nurse Christy Dobrovolny

A spacious and more up-to-date operating room has been in use at Prowers Medical Center since the latter part of January. The new feature is part of the renovation and expansion project set to be completed later this spring at the hospital.  PMC board members and the media were given a tour of the facility following last Wednesday’s monthly board meeting, January 27^th.

New O.R. Has Been in Use Since Late January

Christy Dobrovolny, the Chief Nurse of the operating room, led the tour which featured state of the art equipment and a considerably larger room, going from 345 square feet to 600 square feet of space for medical staff. The visitors were equipped with one piece coveralls which kept contamination of the room to a minimum during the tour.  The new room is safer as well, “We used to have to step over numerous electrical cables that connected our equipment,” she explained, pointing out that those wires are now overhead and out of the way.  The room is also warmer, as Dobrovolny said studies show that infections were actually more prevalent in colder operating theaters.

Aside from the added space, the room also features three recovery beds and personal monitoring computers for each patient, as well as an additional isolation room which will be used to accommodate patients who need to be kept isolated. Another feature you notice right away are two large sized monitors which are head-high and extremely bright lights over the surgical bed.  “The 52 inch screen is linked to a camera which provides the surgeon with a magnified view of his work for extreme details and the second screen on the other side of the patient provides an identical view for the other medical staff, or a split screen for additional views,” she explained.  Dobrovolny said the real time views can be sent by computer for viewing and consultation with a specialist from anywhere in the country, providing an additional level of medical expertise for the patient.

“The staff has been fully briefed on the new equipment,” she told the group, “And I have the phone number of each representative of the companies that sold us and trained on the equipment. I have access to them 24/7 if needed,” she said.  Craig Loveless, hospital CEO, explained that tours will be available for the new additions to the hospital during the spring grand opening, provided they won’t be in use at that time.

By Russ Baldwin