Laser Spine Institute – Outpatient Surgery Center

Project Details

Project Description

Desiring significant growth, Laser Spine Institute (LSI) needed to reconsider their operational model to fulfill their business goals. They wanted to enhance the patient and family experience and increase staff efficiency – two sometimes conflicting goals. As amenities were added to increase patient privacy and comfort, nurse travel time increased. Revised departmental flow was mapped, simulation studies proved recovery position reduction was possible, and consensus was reached around the new approach.

The new satellite facilities are smaller than the current primary location. Each new space is built with three operating rooms, pre-operative care units (PRE-OP), post-anesthesia care units (PACU), and other necessary support areas. The guidelines state that there should be four PRE-OP and eight PACU rooms to support the three operating suites. Array decided that to use discrete event simulation to determine if the existing guidelines are accurate and if there are other design options and workflows that might lead to a more efficient and effective use of space.

The simulation model was developed using process time data from the headquarters facility as a baseline. Scenarios were added to test different operating flows and staffing requirements. The simulation results revealed that eight flexible-use rooms could support three operating rooms and two surgeons. The results also provided additional insight to how incremental construction variations could lead to long-term revenue generation by the client, including the ability to support an additional surgeon without making any changes to the initial design.