The recent acquisition of an upgraded operating table and surgical lights will expand the capabilities of the surgical suite at Nell J Redfield, as the hospital begins its 100th year of service to the community.  Over the course of the year, the Enterprise plans to keep up with the hospital’s ongoing present, as well as look back at its past and forward to its future.  The operating table and lights are something of a mix of both, as they replace equipment which has been in use for many years, and will allow for a more modern and flexible surgical experience moving forward.

“Do you think those are the original lights that were put in the in 70s, Nancy?” Community Relations Manager Kathy Hubbard asked of Acute Care Director Nancy Asay, who has seen many changes over the year.  “Oh, no,” Asay replied, “but they have been here for quite a while!”

The table is acquitted with a range of lights that are much brighter than the ones that had been in place for many years.  The lights are LEDs, which allows them to be brighter than incandescent lights without creating heating issues for the doctors and patients involved.  They also have various light spectrum settings, to allow doctors to highlight and make visible different areas according to the surgical procedures in question. 

The table is battery powered, which allow for the table to be tipped for things like shoulder surgery and rotated without worrying about cords creating a tripping hazard for those working in the Operating Room.  “They said that if you plug it over the weekend, it’ll be good all week,” Surgical Technician Shane Howard said.  “The thing about this one is it has a slide to make it more comfortable for people when we do injections and other procedures.”  The older table had a “metal bar that would  be right against your back,” Howard added.  “This is a lot better.”

The table can be remotely moved to accommodate a number of different positions and shapes to make it best suited for the specific surgical needs of the patient and doctor.

Kristy Eliason demonstrated the “beach chair position,” which is a preset function that allows for patients to be positioned comfortably.  The table includes a function that allows it to be “tipped” to aid in moving patients from the table to a gurney with the least amount of strain possible on both the health care providers and the patients themselves.

The table can also be lowered to accommodate patients who are not able to place themselves on a standard operating table height without assistance.  “It’s not quite low enough for the six year old we had in to have their tonsils out to get up on their own, but it was close,” Howard said.

There are also settings that allow for easier positioning of patients for back surgery and other surgical procedures that have proved somewhat cumbersome in the past.  

“This is really a great addition to our surgery,” Kathy Hubbard said.  “It’s much needed, and will see a lot of use.”