Yale New Haven leaders and physicians cut the ribbon for the new Center for Musculoskeletal Care McGivney Advanced Surgery Center Aug. 9. The Center can care  for up to 40 patients a day.

With surgery center opening, YNHH reimagines musculoskeletal care

Susan Maxwell, RN, vice president of Surgical Services, summed up the new Center for Musculoskeletal Care McGivney Advanced Surgery Center in one word: “Stunning.”

The beauty of this new center on the Saint Raphael Campus goes deeper than the advanced technology, efficient design and patient- and family-friendly décor, she explained. The center allows surgeons to perform even complex orthopedic and spine procedures on an outpatient basis.

“We have reimagined the fundamental way in which we provide musculoskeletal and ambulatory surgery care,” Maxwell told a large
crowd at an Aug. 9 ribbon-cutting.

 

Mary O'Connor, MD, director of Musculoskeletal Care, addressed the crowd.

Mary O’Connor, MD, director of Musculoskeletal Care, shared some of the center’s innovative features, including six operating rooms dedicated to spine procedures and partial or total hip and knee replacements and one procedure room for other joint procedures. In addition to advanced surgical equipment, each OR has an electronic display at the entrance showing the patient’s name, key medical information, procedure to be performed and surgery team members. 

The center also includes 23 private bays for pre- and post-operative care and a physical therapy gym where physical therapists will help evaluate patients to determine whether they can safely go home. Many patients will also learn to use the Virtual Exercise Rehabilitation Assistant (VERA) digital program, which guides patients through prescribed, customized exercises at home.


While the majority of McGivney Advanced Surgery Center patients will go home the day of surgery, those needing additional care can easily be moved to one of the two Center for Musculoskeletal Care inpatient units at the SRC. Dr. O’Connor noted that this is a major advantage of having an outpatient surgery center at a hospital. 

Welcoming guests to the new Center were (l-r): Susan Maxwell, RN, vice president, Surgical Services; Lori Ryder, RN, director of nursing, Perioperative Ambulatory Services; Heidi Rillstone, RN, McGivney patient service manager; and Leslie Mordarski, administrator, Perioperative Business Office.

Patient- and family-centered features include convenient, on-site parking; calming lighting and music for patients before surgery and when they awaken; and “concierge-style” service, in which a communications associate greets patients and families upon arrival and keeps families updated on their loved one’s status.

“McGivney is not just a surgery center,” Maxwell said. “McGivney is an integrated care model that allows us to provide our patients with a unique, patient-centered experience to improve their mobility and health, one surgery, one family, one patient at a time.”