New York City-based Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center will soon open a cancer surgery center with a focus on outpatient recovery.
The specially designed Josie Robertson Surgery Center aims to successfully discharge most patients either the day of or the day following a procedure — including those procedures traditionally requiring hospitalization times.
Located a few blocks from Memorial Hospital on Manhattan's Upper East Side, MSK's sophisticated new facility will be equipped to provide surgical care for breast, head and neck, gynecologic and urologic cancer patients.
The JRSC is slated to open in 2016 and will accommodate 60 surgeries a day at capacity.
"We recognize that surgery patients are better off recovering at home," said anesthesiologist Brett Simon MD, director of the JRSC. "Designing a way to get them [home] safely and quickly represents a significant advance in cancer care."
Key to this advanced treatment plan will be the careful management of patients from beginning to end of surgical care, starting the moment that the surgery decision is made. Here are five major features MSK believes will facilitate more efficient post-operative recovery within the new surgical center.
1. An online patient portal and mobile device app will improve patient-physician communication and notify patients of important steps they can take to speed up their recovery.
2. Post-surgery spaces aim to encourage patient mobility — a tactic proven to aid in faster recovery — including patient/family meeting areas, patient lounges and ambulation walkways with original artwork.
3. Tracking technologies will allow JRSC staff to constantly compile data and evaluate and monitor patient recovery while patients move freely throughout the building, enhancing the patient experience.
4. Improved community spaces, including a cafe, market and lounge, are designed to keep patients, families, and caregivers relaxed and comfortable throughout recovery.
5. Skype-like technology will connect off-site caregivers and on-site physicians to better coordinate treatment plans for patients.
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