ORM February 2023 - 1

FEBRUARY
2023
Volume 39
Number 2
Education and information for OR decision makers
AMBULATORY SURGERY CENTERS
IN THIS ISSUE
Thank You to Our Contributors .......5
INDUSTRY BEATS
Managing labor costs in a time of
staffing shortages ........................9
Assessing options for
post-warranty equipment
maintenance ..............................11
Digital transformation and its
impact on OR utilization ..............13
Reader's choice: OR a.m. top
read stories ...............................16
SPECIALTY STORIES
Other requirements for
processing electrosurgical
instruments ...............................27
Strategies for preparing and
surviving a CMS survey ...............29
LEGAL
BY CATHERINE SPADER
Making real change: How nurse leaders
can collaborate with legislators
IMPORTANT
DATES
Feb 5 - OR Business
Management Conference
pre-conference workshop
Feb 6 - OR Business Management
Conference opens
February - OR Manager Conference
agenda releases
Sep 18 - OR Manager Conference
opens
racy Hoeft-Hoffman,
MSN, MBA,
RN, CASC, did not
picture herself as a politician
when she became
the administrator of
Heartland Surgery Center,
Kearney, Nebraska.
One of her primary goals
in the then-new role was
to implement 23-hour
recovery rooms, but she quickly hit a
wall when she discovered Nebraska regulations
did not allow overnight stays
in ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs).
To negotiate the roadblock, she tried
to work with the Nebraska Department
T
Tracy HoeftHoffman,
MSN,
MBA,
RN, CASC
of Health and Human Services to make
the change. She did not get far.
" After going back and forth with
them for nearly 4 years, they said the
only way I would get the regulation
changed was through the state legislature, "
says Hoeft-Hoffman.
So, she began to rub elbows with
Nebraska's lawmakers. First, she did
her homework, teaming up with Heartland's
medical director, David McConnell,
MD. They researched the regulations
of the Centers for Medicare and
Medicaid Services and other states,
which did allow for 23-hour stays in
Continued on page 6
Continued on page 23
Pediatric patients benefit from calming,
quiet OR environment
C
aring for children in the OR of an
ambulatory surgery center (ASC)
means paying attention to the
smallest details.
Kids are not small adults. Whether
they specialize in pediatric care or not,
ASCs need to be mindful of the OR
environment when prepping for surgery
or adjusting equipment, and sometimes
be mindful of the atmosphere or noise
level, to provide a comforting experience
for the child.
This is especially important for
young patients with special needs, says
Steven Butz, MD, SAMBA-F, associate
chief medical officer at
Children's Wisconsin
Surgicenter in Milwaukee.
" One of the things
that we really pride ourselves
on is the way we
help autistic children, "
he says. It starts with
the preoperative phone
BY JENNIFER LUBELL
Steven Butz,
MD, SAMBA-F
call. Staff review patient preferences
with the family. What are their child's
comfort items? What things bother or
trigger them? How do they like to communicate?
Continued
on page 18
https://www.ormanager.com/
ORM February 2023

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of ORM February 2023
