Our Operating Suite
Accreditation
Our facility was built by Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center to standards exceeding those specified by most ambulatory surgery accreditation organizations. In addition to meeting basic requirements of the building department and fire department, this facility meets or exceeds standards specified by OSHA, and the Joint Committee on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO). Our facility was accredited by the American Association for Accreditation of Ambulatory Surgery Facilities, Inc. (AAAASF) in 2002 and recertified since then at the required intervals.
Staffing
We only employ certified health care professionals of the highest caliber. Our anesthesiologists are board certified physicians (see Meet Our Anesthesiologists). Our nursing staff includes three full-time registered nurses, all who maintain ACLS (Advanced Cardiac Life Support) certification.
Design and Equipment
Operating room design was supervised by architects from Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. Important design features include an industrial capacity heating and air-conditioning system with built-in redundancy, an elaborate fire alarm system approved and regularly inspected by the FDNY, and a high capacity emergency generator capable of powering the entire surgical suite for over 24 hours.
Our equipment is regularly upgraded to the highest standards. We routinely use warm air body blankets, mechanical calf compression devices, and the most advanced anesthesia monitoring equipment available. The operating suite was designed to provide a soothing environment as well as a safe one. The engineers double lined walls to insulate the recovery room from extraneous noise, for example, and a top decorating firm was employed to lend a warm residential feel to the medical environment.
Expense
It is necessary to charge a fee for use of the facility that is separate from the anesthesia fee and the surgical fee. The type of procedure and its duration determines the charge. It is typically less than what a hospital would charge and there is no balance billing should the procedure take longer than estimated.