Every year, Urbana’s own Carle Foundation Hospital performs about 12,000 surgeries, 400 to 500 of those by its cardiovascular specialists. Now, with the addition of four brand new, state-of-the-art operating suites and thirty-two private recovery rooms, the overall experience of surgery for the public is improving with every heartbeat.

With plenty of open space for doctors and assistants, hidden electrical chords for improved safety and sterilization and the kinds of equipment – until now – only imaginable in sci-fi flicks, the new operating rooms, dubbed “EndoSuites,” are sure to provide the best results from surgery possible.

Cameras feed to flat-screen high-definition monitors that display the surgery and the patient’s status to the entire room, easing crowding issues and allowing the possibility of input from other doctors.

Recording of the surgery for patient medical records is also now possible, explained Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgeon Dr. L. Scott Cook.

“In the past, the surgical field was such that (students, other doctors and patients) really couldn’t view (the surgery) … We can go out and discuss the operation with the family and tell them what we’ve done,” Cook said. “They then have a better understanding since these are major operations that they’re going to have to recover from.”

These images and patient information can even be fed to medical students at the University for an increased level of study.

Director of Perioperative Services and registered nurse Julie Cox, said the advantages of the thirty-two new recovery rooms “makes the nurses’ jobs that much safer and easier, which in turn translates to better care of our patients.”

The new rooms have space for the family to wait on one side and space for the nurses to work on the other, creating the best situation for everyone.

There is also a better indirect lighting system for increased visibility on the part of the staff and more comfort for the patient. The rooms are now completely private and are right next to the OR’s, instead of on the other side of the complex like before. This makes transport to and from surgery less traumatic for the patient and easier for the staff.

“Our nurses aren’t getting any younger either, you know,” Cox joked.

The newest suites are to be used chiefly for cardiovascular needs, as they require the most advanced equipment, leaving Carle’s other fourteen OR’s exclusively for other types of surgeries. This also gives the hospital the opportunity to improve the quality of the older suites now that the addition is completed.

Three of the operating suites are currently open for use already, with the fourth, the more advanced “i-Suite,” slated to become live within the next couple of weeks as soon as its set-up is complete and the staff is trained in the use of the suite’s more complex radiology equipment.

The i-Suite’s technology allows doctors to get the best look inside a patient before surgery and keeps procedures as minimally invasive as possible. Carle’s OR addition will then be officially finished with the opening of the last room.