First Draft 3-15-97
Narrative
GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS
Current Direction
The Invasive Procedures Suites
With the recent change in direction of the VA
The Invasive Procedures Suites, are a group
from an inpatient oriented service to a
of rooms consisting of the individual rooms in
primarily outpatient service many new and
which surgery and various procedures are
innovative approaches to service have been
performed, plus all the required support
inaugurated.
rooms. Surgical Operating Rooms are both
General / Topical Anesthesia Rooms and
One approach is Short Stay Surgery. The
Topical Anesthesia Rooms -the latter
procedures units are a one-day surgical and
commonly referred to as "lumps and Bumps"
procedures of Ambulatory Care. In these
surgery.
special
units
patients
have
surgical
procedures or diagnostic testing and return
Surgical and Procedures
rooms are
home - all in the same day. One result is
sometimes downsized from hospital based
reduced cost of hospitalization. A highly
areas and geared to ambulatory procedures
trained professional staff of doctors and
as practiced at a clinic level.
nurses and efficient use of materials also help
Various support areas are required. These
to reduce costs.
include staff lockers and lounge areas;
Sizes of Surgical and Procedures Suites are
anesthesia workroom; scrub areas for the
determined by VA planning models and
staff; storage space; connection to the Supply
approved by authorized planning officials.
Processing
and
Distribution
(SPD);
Much of the current and future work in
housekeeping closets; gas storage area;
planning and under construction will be in
appropriate staff offices; control and
clinics, because of the costs involved the
communication areas; patient holding areas;
trend is away from huge urban medical
and other support rooms or areas as is
centers and more toward smaller suburban
deemed appropriate.
clinics with the majority of patients being
Ambulatory Surgery & Procedures Rooms"
ambulatory (short term surgery and
For Ambulatory Surgery, the term "sterile"
diagnostic testing). These clinics will do
indicates that no micro-organisms are
General and Topical Surgery and other
present,
as
determined
by
known
Invasive Procedures work while Vascular and
microbiologic techniques. We use the term,
Cardiac work will continue to be done in the
"sterile field" to describe the sterile zone in
larger medical centers.
operating rooms and includes the space
immediately
surrounding
the
patient's
incision. Everything that enters this field must
be sterile or as free of micro-organisms as is
possible.
VA DESIGN GUIDE
AMBULATORY CARE INVASIVE PROCEDURES SUITE
PAGE 2-1
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