Covenant HealthCare Unveils Hybrid Operating Room; Technology is One of Two in Michigan
In July 2017, a groundbreaking ceremony kicked-off a major renovation for the Covenant HealthCare Surgical Services Department. Monday, June 25, 2018 Covenant unveiled the new hybrid operating suite and home of the ARTIS pheno, a robotic C-arm angiography system used for minimally invasive interventional procedures. This new robotic technology is the first of its kind in the Great Lakes Bay Region, second in Michigan, and it’s changing the way surgeons view the human body.
“This operating room is the future of surgical care,” says John Germain, Director of Surgical Services at Covenant. “We are excited to make this technology available to patients in our region.”
The addition and renovation represent an investment of $7.2 million, adding three levels and more than 12,000 square feet to the Covenant Cooper facility. The new space has a new 1,465 square foot state of the art hybrid operating room with the latest technology, additional office space, a renovation of an existing OR, and a central sterile processing area.
A hybrid operating room is a traditional surgical room that is also equipped with advanced medical imaging x-ray devices. Hybrid ORs support minimally invasive surgeries and allow the surgical team to perform imaging studies in the operating room. The room is set up to be dual functioning- accommodating procedures, but able to quickly flip to a traditional open surgical room if needed. This eliminates the need to move patients during a procedure. Less movement is good for many reasons, including a reduced risk of infection and less time to reorganize the room.
“This is the culmination of years of dedication for us to be the leader in vascular surgery in Michigan,” says Dr. Ron Bays, a local vascular surgeon who was active in the development of this project. “We strive to give every patient the most up to date care available and our team has come together to make that dream a reality. I can't wait to get started and take our mission to the next level and beyond.”
One of the things that makes the new Covenant hybrid OR so unique, is the state of the art technology in it. Covenant is the second hospital in Michigan to have the specialized C-arm, the ARTIS pheno. The ARTIS pheno is a robotic piece of equipment that allows advanced x-ray imaging to be incorporated into a surgical suite. Covenant is excited to add this to the existing team of robots in the OR, which currently includes three da Vinci robots and two MAKOs for robotic knee replacement surgeries.
While the concept of a hybrid OR isn’t entirely new, the expanded scope of patients Covenant can help is. The ARTIS pheno equipment can properly support patients of all shapes and sizes. Other c-arms often have size and weight limits that are restrictive, and the positioning was not always optimal for the surgical team.
In addition, the ARTIS pheno has an antimicrobial coating and sealed housing, to help keep the system clean and may aid in preventing bacteria and viruses. In the surgical setting, lowering the risk of infection for patients is critical.
Covenant is also excited for the opportunity to help recruit up and coming physicians to the area. As Germain says, “Surgeons train on the latest equipment, and they expect that equipment to be available when they graduate. Covenant wants the best of the best in our region, as that is what our patients deserve. When hospitals [like Covenant] have the latest technology, it helps attract new and experienced physicians to Saginaw to offer services to our community.”
The hybrid OR will be used for advanced vascular surgical procedures including aortic aneurysm repair and peripheral vascular interventions, interventional cardiology procedures including transaortic valve replacements, orthopaedic trauma, neurological procedures, and more.