[umakemesmile]

I have been appointed to a new commitee for the remodel of our OR. We have looked at different companies and have had demonstrations of various products. We are looking to have universal rooms with booms for video equipment and central nursing stations built in each room.

I'd like to hear from others what they have i.e. Skytron, Linvatec etc...
Ease of use? What you like and dislike. What you wish had been installed, what you wish had never been put in.

We will be making onsite visits to other facilities for more answers but I would like to hear from you too.

Once it's installed there's no going back so I'd like to make it the best for all staff.

Thanks

[shodobe]

A whole lot of different opinions will come to you about equipment and such and everyone has their favorites. My only suggestion would be to make sure they wire the department for future upgrades such as networking. I would hope the designers and bill payers would have this in mind. You may not need it today but 2, 5 or even 10 years from now it would be nice to have this in place. Even if they don't run the wiring to each room they can have the conduit in place so wire can be run later. So many older hospitals have to upgrade their equipment, such as computers, to each room and it is an absolute mess and disruption to have crews cutting, drilling and running wire all over the place especially when you are trying to conduct business. Good luck!

[staceyp413]

We moved into the new OR 3 years ago and the prev. manager had chosen Skytron booms. The hardest thing w/the booms is that it is difficult to get them into the right position for left/right cases depending on which room you are in and are difficult to place for anesthesia. The company has been great about their service and maintenance however.

I also don't necessarily like that all of the equipment are on the booms, especially laparoscopic so unless you have the money to set up all of the rooms with camera boxes, insufflators, etc. it can limit you on which rooms you can do certain cases. On this same note with the equipment we went with Stryker and that has been a bit more of an issue. By the time we moved in to the new OR the equipment was already near a new upgrade so wait as long as possible to order for placement and if you can incorporate any type of upgrade discount I would definitely recommend it! Also, for any staff who are not "technology" driven there is a lot to learn with troubleshooting. I feel that I could almost work at Best Buy with all that I've learned

Also, think ahead for further expansions. We're 3 years out and are already looking at another expansion. Good Luck!

[Jarnaes]

Another good resource is Outpatient Surgery Magazine (http://www.outpatientsurgery.net/). They have a whole section on building a surgical facility which covers everything from design to supplies.

[elcue]

Don't forget STORAGE SPACE!!!!
We are suffocating for lack of space as our equipment inventory continues to grow. Seems there are a dozen new wonder-machines each year, each larger than the last. Our hallways are absolutely crammed with stored microscopes, specialty beds, video towers, computer consoles, etc.
Good luck with this huge task!

[TracyB,RN]

Man, that sounds like fun!!!
I would just about give my right arm to get the stupid cords OFF the floor! That includes power & all the gases. I guess that's what the booms are???
Since I do lots of ortho with lots of irrigation, I would also have something that I could have more than 4 suction cannisters hooked up & ready to go.. Did I mention I work in a very OLD facility, with very OLD "equipment." Sometimes, we can't even FIND the OLD equipment... Good times, good times... I gotta chant "I love my job, I love my job" on a fairly regular basis.