This is an artist’s rendition of a new 30,000-square-foot building at Bay Pines VA Medical Center that will house an eye treatment center and an ambulatory surgery center.
The Bay Pines VA Medical Center is constructing a two-story building that will house a new eye treatment center on the first floor and an ambulatory surgery center on the second floor.
The new building is being constructed by Stryker Construction Services LLC at an estimated cost of $8.4 million. It will be a freestanding building connected to the northeast side of the current hospital. The 30,000-square-foot building is expected to open in 2011.
The eye treatment center, will offer a variety of diagnostic, examination, and treatment services for numerous eye conditions such as specialized low vision, cataracts, glaucoma, and medical retina conditions, including diabetes and macular degeneration; as well as eye problems related to traumatic brain injury.
Many of these services are currently offered at Bay Pines but the new center will provide convenience to veterans and additional capacity to treat the growing number of veterans with eye related diseases.
Moving the eye center to the new building also will free up space in the current hospital for expansion of other departments. It will employ a minimum of 15.
The ambulatory surgery center will be a complete day-surgery center where patients report for their procedures in the morning, have their surgery, recuperate, and depart from the Center.
There will be four Smart OR operating rooms, which use an integrated system of digital equipment for minimally invasive surgeries, as well as multiple recovery rooms. The Center will perform cataract surgery, arthroscopies, biopsies, excisions, and most ENT and plastic surgery procedures in which the patient goes home the same day.
These services are currently offered at Bay Pines. However, they are not performed in a single location. The new center allows all of the services to be provided in one location which enhances patient safety and convenience, increases OR efficiency, and will free up the current operating rooms to be used for patients who need to be admitted to the hospital. It will employ a variety of healthcare professionals such as surgeons, anesthesiologists, certified nurse anesthetists, nurses, and technicians.
“The new eye treatment and ambulatory surgery center will provide added convenience and will greatly enhance care for our veterans,” said Dr. Terry Wright, chief of surgery. “Having state-of-the-art equipment in a new building enhances patient safety and increases efficiencies.”
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