New Operating Room Suite . '• «

A sterile central core is the main design feature of the hospital s all new operating room suite. That means the four operating rooms, mcluamg one designated exclusively for urology cases, adjoin each other in an area planned to facilitate the best in surgical techniques. . . , , The traffic flow of employees, patients, supplies and even the air has been engineered for maximum benefit to the patient. Architects for the hospital’s East Wing, Wilmot. Bower ^Associates, Inc., are medically oriented pnd so their advice regarding the facilities was based on the latest in health care planning. The actual layout, however, developed out of a cooperative effort between them and the BTMH medical and nursing staff. Excursions were made to other New Jersey hospitals and even to Washington, D.C., to observe the newest and best operating facilities available. The resulting suite is one that surgeons and nurses agree will offer convenience, efficiency and a high standard of patient care. Elevators directly outside the suite will bring patients to the surgical area. Then a special pre-op holding room will offer a more relaxed atmosphere for waiting than the hall positions previously utilized. Before a physician or nurse enters the central core, he dr she will scrub and gown. Patients will beprepared in the holding area. / One of-the first Southern New Jersey hospitals to initiate the system, BTMH has located their sterile supply department directly under the operating rooms. Carts with all needed instrumentation for each operation will be prepared there and then transported by a dumbwaiter type of device directly to the f).R. suite. Another lift, appropriately located, will remove used instruments./All equipment will be sterilized in the facility on the lower level. / . - Air quality is especially important in certain types of orthopedic surgery, so planning for the best possible air filtering, conditioning andHow will benefit patients. \ Families of those undergoing surgery have also been considered. They will now have a special waiting area off the main lobby and near theD.R. elevators. Office space, staff changing and rest areas are included in the suite. Operating room personnel will work in an environment that meets emergency as

well as routine needs.

SURGICAL SERVICES ENHANCED

The new facilities offer many advantages, but local residents are also benefiting from the addition of highly qualified surgical specialists to the staff. Progress has been steady over the past few years with orthopedics, gynecology, ophthamology and urology now well established subsections of the department. During recent months, plastic surgery has been added and vascular procedures initiated.

Neurosurgery will begin next year.

The Surgeons

James N. Judson, M.D.

Or. G. Raymond Brown has b«en with th« hospital 27 yaars. beginning her* as an associate of Dr. Wayny Stewart, founder of the surgical department. As current chief of surgery, he hctt hod a key role in the development of services. Or. Brown is a past preiidfnt of the medical staff. I think it is Important for people to realize that there are board certified surgeons available here to handle emergen, cies 24 hours a day. 7 days a week, he says. Dr. Brown and others live on a regular schedule of call every other night. Dr. Brown trained at Temple University Medical School and is certified by the American Board of Surgery. He is also a member of the teaching staff of the American University of the Caribbean Medical School and now has one of their medico 1 students training with him her* at BTMH.

James N. Judson. M.D. - Since Dr. Judson became the first full-time orthopedist on the staff in 1,975. his department has grown to include three specialists in this area. We have worked to maintain the most current methods of fracture treatment, on important service in a community hospital, he says. Joint replacements and most other reconstructive'procedures ore routinely done. Specialized equipment has also been obtained with the television hookup for visualizing arthroscopic knee surgery the latest purchase. Dr. Judson is certified by the American Board of Orthopedic Surgery. He trained at Jefferson Medical College inPhiladelphia. Recently named to the Board of Directors of the New Jersey Orthopedic Society, he also serves os vice president of the South Jersey Professional Standards Review Organization.

Robert /. Salasin, M.D.

Robert I^Salasin, M.D. • Two generations of Solasins hove participated in the progress of the department of surgery at BTMH. When Dr. Robert I. Salasin first joined the staff in 1978. he and his father. Robert G. Salasin. worked together as a surgical team. His father is now semi-retired, but Robert I. actively continues the famil$ tradition of general surgical practice along with involvement in the growth and enhancement of their home hospital. Young Salasin, an innovator, is proud of his port in the many accomplishments of the past five /ears. Among his special interests or* the same-day surgery services he helped expand and formalize soon after his arrival. Robert I. Salasin is a graduate of Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia. He was certified by the American Board of Surgeons in 1977 and named a fellow in 1980.