Hazel Hawkins Hospital is moving on up in the medical world,
opening the doors to its first-ever outpatient surgery center next
week.
Hollister – Hazel Hawkins Hospital is moving on up in the medical world, opening the doors to its first-ever outpatient surgery center next week.
The center will boast the best technology in Northern California, to as far south as San Luis Obispo, according to hospital officials.
The hospital’s new $5 million, 7,600 square-foot center will hold its grand opening Tuesday and officially open for business Wednesday after more than a year of construction, said Joanne Hamilton, director of surgical services.
“(Technology-wise) we’re one year ahead of Stanford right now,” Hamilton said. “Our little building’s very impressive.”
The facility was funded with a bond passed several years ago, and is separate from the voter-approved property bond that was passed in April which will garner $31.5 million for a complete face-lift of the hospital over 30 years.
In the past, outpatient surgeries were performed in the same facility as inpatient and emergency surgeries, Hamilton said. However, because inpatient surgeries, which require the patient to stay overnight, and emergencies took precedence over the less serious outpatient ones, people would often get bumped from the schedule or have to wait to be seen, Hamilton said.
The new center, which is located in a separate building behind the main facility, will house three suites dedicated to outpatient care, 10 beds and two private recovery rooms. The center will allow physicians to serve some 200 outpatients a month, performing procedures ranging from orthopedic and ophthalmologic to gynecological and other general surgeries, according to hospital officials.
Technologically-advanced equipment, which Hamilton insists will make Stanford-physicians envious, include flat-screen video equipment in each operating room to assist surgeons in performing delicate tasks, and cameras inside surgical equipment which can send detailed images from the operating room to a computer monitor for instant surgical consultations. This will allow surgeons to get a second opinion without having to physically call in another doctor to the operating room.
While patients may not be aware of the high-tech equipment, they will notice the aesthetically-pleasing environment the architects and interior decorators strove to create, Hamilton said.
Skylights and windows were carved into the building to allow natural light to filter in. A meditation garden with a waterfall and shade areas, which is under construction, will give patients and family members a pleasant place to recover and relax.
“It’s a healing approach to things,” she said. “The whole package is something the city of Hollister can be very, very proud of.”
Erin Musgrave covers public safety for the Free Lance. Reach her at 637-5566, ext. 336 or [email protected]
