The Future of Surgery at VGH: the Phil and Jennie Gaglardi Surgical Centre celebrated its one-year anniversary
One year ago, on May 5, 2021, the Phil and Jennie Gaglardi Surgical Centre, located on the third floor of VGH's Jim Pattison Pavilion North (JPN), opened to patients – a tribute to VCH's unwavering commitment to collaboration and innovation. It features 16 new, universal operating rooms (ORs), a 40-bed perioperative suite for pre- and post-operative patient care and a state-of-the-art integrative technology system.
“Our team is grateful to be celebrating this milestone," said Shelly Fleck, Chief Clinical Planning Officer, Major Redevelopment & Expansion Projects, LGH ACF & VGH, Operations Director, Surgical Services, VA & VGH Simulation Centre. “Opening the perioperative suite on the third floor has enabled us to provide the exceptional care patients expect in a space that was designed by our staff for our staff. The space is functional and has facilitated one of our guiding design principles “universality – any case, any room."
By designing universal operating rooms, surgical teams at VGH can perform any surgery in any room on the third floor. It's been a game changer.
“We have had a very exciting first year in operation. We have seen first hand the flexibility that universal operating rooms provide for day-to-day workflows. We have improved access to care with the ability to assign any case to any OR and to flex the PCU area to support patient flow. I am so proud of the design created by staff." – Andrea Bisaillon, Operations Director, Perioperative Services, Vancouver Acute
“Opening the new and beautiful surgical floor has inspired our staff. We are very proud of the work we do knowing that we contribute to positive outcomes for our patients." – Irena Tabachnicov, Manager, Medical Device Reprocessing Department, VGH, UBC, Richmond Hospitals
“Happy one-year anniversary to our combined new home (PCU) and congratulations to all of you for catching up with surgeries that were postponed during the COVID-19 pandemic! High fives and immense gratitude to each and every one of you." – Rhonda, Interim Manager for PACU/PCC/PCU
“The success of the ORs is a testament to the robust development process we went through over the last few years. All stakeholders were given input, and the result is an operating room that can easily accommodate all the complex procedures carried out at VGH, in a fashion that allows for optimal patient safety. We have now worked within these operating rooms for over a year, and although I keep looking out for deficiencies, what has instead been found is almost universal satisfaction with them." – Dr. Oliver Applegarth MD MEd FRCPC, Staff Anesthesiologist, Dept of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Care, Vancouver Acute
VCH is committed to improving access to the quality surgical services patients' need, when they need them. In collaboration with the Government of British Columbia and the VGH & UBC Hospital Foundation, the new Phil and Jennie Gaglardi Surgical Centre will continue to improve patient safety and quality outcomes.
