Bio-medical Engineering Technician: It is desirable to have a bio-medical technician assigned to the Surgical Suite. This technician's
home base should be a small office/lab (near the Operating Rooms), approximately 120 net square feet (11.16 net square meters)
where tests, maintenance, and repairs of equipment used in the Operating Rooms can be performed.
Housekeeping Staff (Operating Rooms): Specially trained housekeeping staff is assigned to decontaminate and sterilize the
Operating Rooms and equipment after each procedure. They work out of a dedicated housekeeping closet accessed from the
semi-restricted corridor.
PLANNING CRITERIA
The following is a list of basic planning criteria, which are desirable as standards for the Surgical Suite. For further information, see
Technical Information Library (TIL), Space Planning Criteria for VA Facilities - Handbook 7610.
Size of Holding, Prep and Phase II Recovery Areas
The inpatient or outpatient is brought into the Prep Area, or Holding Room, prior to the surgical procedure. Last minute consultations
with the patient by the staff take place here. Shunts for IV solutions may be inserted here. To comply with HIPAA requirements,
patient areas must provide acoustical and visual privacy at all times.
Prep Areas and Phase II Recovery Spaces can be three-walled with a cubicle curtain, but it is recommended that they be four-walled
rooms with a minimum dimension of 9.0 feet (2.72 meters) wide and 12.0 feet (3.66 meters) deep. The door to the corridor may be a
4.0 feet (1.22 meters) swinging door or a sliding glass door with breakaway hardware.
It is recommended that the ratio of 1 Prep Room to 1 Operating Room and 1.5 Phase II Recovery Rooms to 1 Operating Room be
provided.
The Phase II Recovery Room is utilized for recovery of the patient after the PACU and/or for ambulatory surgery patients who come
directly from the surgery. The Prep Area should be co-located with the Phase II Recovery Room to provide maximum flexibility for
the patient room assignment. Since most surgical procedures are started in the morning, the Prep Area can occupy underutilized
Phase II Recovery Space in the morning but the same area can be used for additional Phase II recovery in the afternoon.
Design Guide - Surgical Service
Narrative
Guide Plate:
2g
Page 7 of 14
Date: August 2005
Previous Page
