New, state-of-the-art operating rooms opening at Banner Thunderbird Medical Center

GLENDALE, Ariz. (April 16, 2010) – Patients undergoing surgery at Banner Thunderbird Medical Center will soon be treated and cared for in a newly expanded surgical treatment area that includes a new, larger pre-operative area, a larger recovery room, called the Post Anesthesia Care Unit (PACU), and four state-of-the-art operating rooms.

The preoperative area and the PACU are scheduled to open April 26, while the four new operating rooms will open May 3.

The hospital’s new preoperative area will provide 16 bays – six more than the current 10-bed preoperative area – for patients being prepped for surgery. The new preoperative area also includes a separate, enclosed area for pediatric patients. For the first time, each preoperative bay will have flat panel TVs for patients to enjoy, as well as natural lighting and ample bedside space for loved ones.
The project will add four additional operating rooms to the hospital, bringing the total number of operating rooms at the hospital to 14. Of the four new operating rooms, two will be used to treat heart patients and two for patients undergoing orthopedic or neurological procedures.

The new operating rooms, called “smart suites,” feature state-of-the-art LED lighting, remotely controlled cameras that will allow medical students to observe surgeries via teleconference technology, and flat screen monitors that will allow surgeons to project live images of the surgery or the patient’s digital X-ray images during the surgical case. 

After surgery, patients will recover in Banner Thunderbird’s new 22-bed PACU. The hospital’s current PACU is 14 beds. The new PACU features a separate, private recovery space for pediatric patients and a designated second stage recovery area for patients who have come out of anesthesia and area awaiting transfer to their hospital room. 

Banner Thunderbird is one of the busiest surgucal suites in the West Valley. Surgical services include heart surgery, gynecologic surgery, advanced laparoscopy, urology, orthopedics, pediatrics, neurosurgery and spinal surgery. Banner Thunderbird has 513 beds, 2,900 employees and 1,200 physicians representing a variety of specialties.

Banner Thunderbird is part of Phoenix-based Banner Health, one of the largest, nonprofit health care systems in the country.