Our Procedures
"Procedure was on time. Staff was fun and informative."
Admission:
As a patient you will be asked to check in early for your procedure. When you arrive at the Surgical Center, a clerical staff member will greet you at the front desk. Upon arrival, we will ask you to verify your personal information, inform you of our financial policy, and provide you with our privacy notice. We will take a picture of your picture ID at this time. At that time, you, and anyone accompanying you, will be asked to wait briefly in our reception area until a nurse comes to escort you to the pre-op area. During your procedure, we encourage any guest or family member to remain in the reception area. We are happy to take a cell phone number and call your guest or family member when you are done with your procedure.
Pre-Op:
The nurse will welcome you in the reception area and bring you to a private room where you will change into a gown if necessary. Often you will leave your street clothes on and we will simply put the gown over your clothes. We will go over your paperwork and your history and physical. We will go over your post-procedures at this time since you may be a little sleepy after your procedure. The nurse will check your vital signs and start an IV for your procedure. If you are having eye surgery, the anesthesia provider will come and visit with you before your procedure.
Endoscopy Suite or Operating Room:
Let our friendly staff make your visit as pleasant as possible. The Operating Room nurse or Endoscopy nurse will come to the admission area and take you to the procedure room on the same stretcher that you were just admitted on. We are happy to get you a warm blanket or extra pillows if you need them. We will then place you on monitors in order to watch your vital signs: a blood pressure cuff, pulse oximeter on your finger, and three heart electrodes (small sticky patches) on each shoulder and one on your chest area. Once these monitors are in place, we will give you supplemental oxygen either by mask or nasal cannula. Your doctor will visit with you prior to your procedure and then our specially trained nurses will be given an order to administer sedation medications through your IV.
Recovery:
You will be brought to the Recovery Area from the endoscopy suite or operating room on your same stretcher. There will be a recovery nurse waiting for you there. Our nursing staff will closely observe you and monitor your vital signs. This is where you will remain until you are awake and ready to go home. Most of our patients are ready to go home within about 30 minutes. With some of our newer medications, a recovery time of 15-20 minutes is common.
We are happy to get you a cold refreshing drink of juice or water in the recovery area. Your doctor will come and visit with you before you go home. It is not unusual to still feel a little sleepy when you are discharged. Remember that you will need someone to accompany you and drive you home, as you will be considered under the influence of drugs on discharge.
When you feel ready to leave our facility, we will once again review your discharge instructions with you and your guests or family members. We will give you a written copy of the home care instructions to have for your records.
We want to be sure that all your questions are answered and that you have the information and instructions needed to make a successful recovery. We will call you a day or two after your procedure, just to check on you.