South Nassau Adds Two New Surgical Suites to Ongoing Expansion in Best Practices

By Roxanne Squires

SOUTH NASSAU, N.Y.— South Nassau Communities Hospital (SNCH) has officially opened two new large operating rooms designed to accommodate front-line medical technology, signifying another achievement in the ongoing expansion of the facility.

With Envision of New York as the architectural firm, the $7 million expansion initially converted storage space into two new advanced operating rooms, providing a better accommodation for larger surgical teams, while also freeing up floor space and lines of sight aimed to enhance communication among surgeons, nurses and support staff. This conversion is also designed to provide availability to cutting-edge medical technology and equipment.

According to a statement, each new operating room includes new equipment for oxygen, anesthesia and suspending other services from the ceiling and walls. State-of-the-art white and green lighting provides greater visibility during invasive procedures, and a special unit monitors temperature, pressure and humidity for the operating room suite. Other features include video imaging and ample space for equipment and maneuvering of the surgical team.

“The new facilities provide an environment where we can expand the surgical capabilities of the hospital and improve patient safety,” said Rajiv Datta, MD, chairman of the Department of Surgery and medical director of Gertrude & Louis Feil Cancer Center.

Datta explained that by suspending the equipment from the ceilings and walls, rather than placing the equipment on the floor, creates the availability to provide additional space and to better accommodate larger surgical teams, overall optimizing the physicians’ performance and ease of patient care.

“This is another step in our overall effort to provide the best possible care to residents of the South Shore,” said South Nassau’s President & CEO, Richard J. Murphy. “Modern operating suites are generally much larger than those that were built 40 years ago in order to accommodate diagnostic and robotic equipment that now is routinely used during surgery. We are recognizing that fact with this investment.”

The new operating rooms highlight another achievement in the hospital’s on-going expansion plan. SNCH completed the first phase of a multi-year construction project in September to expand its emergency department with the opening of a $4.5 million, 10-bed emergency department addition. Nearly $300 million in expansion plans are in the design stage for the Oceanside and Long Beach medical campuses.

According to a statement, approximately 12,000 surgeries are performed each year at SNCH that range from cataract removal and a hernia repair to hip replacement and neurosurgery.  These new operating suites will enhance the capability of South Nassau’s surgeons to perform an array of procedures, including laparoscopic surgeries and those that require two surgical teams, such as cancer procedures that are followed by reconstruction surgery.