St. Mary Medical Center Foundation

Preview of Hybrid and Robotic Operating Rooms

Donors and Board members get "behind the scenes" tour

A group of St. Mary donors and board members got a “behind the scenes” tour of the new Hybrid and Robotic Operating rooms.   Dr. Erich Everts, Medical Director of Anesthesia, spoke about this important step in the growth of surgical services at St. Mary Medical Center.  The redesigned surgical space accommodates the new technology and gives the operating room staff the room they need to safely move around the patient.  This combination of cutting edge equipment and well-designed workspace, helps St. Mary recruit and retain leading surgeons in the field of Neurosciences, Trauma, Heart & Vascular, and Orthopedics.  According to Dr. Everts, “These two new operating rooms are the first phase of a $32 million expansion in surgical services that addresses the increased complexity of the cases we treat and our commitment to our community.”  Dr. Everts spoke of the support many of the St. Mary physicians have given to the project and thanked them for their generosity.

Dr. Mark McLaughlin, Medical Director of Princeton Brain and Spine Care, spoke of the importance of the neuroscience program at St. Mary.  “Every three minutes two million brains cells die when you suffer a stoke.  Saving brain tissue quickly can be the difference between feeding yourself or being fed; walking or being bed ridden; talking or being silent.”  St. Mary has a three-pronged approach to addressing neurological disorders—investment in equipment & infrastructure, people, and facilities.   

The highlight of the tour was a firsthand look at the new equipment in the Hybrid OR rooms.  Endovascular neurosurgery is a specialty that uses minimally invasive procedures to diagnose and treat vascular disorders of the brain and spine.  Traditionally, interventional procedure rooms are located outside the operating room. 

Therefore, if a situation becomes critical and the need for immediate surgical intervention arises, a new OR and interventional team need to be notified and prepped and then the patient is transported.  In the new Hybrid OR, the patient stays put and the new surgeon is immediately brought in while the rest of the team remains the same.  Precious time is saved, along with the decreased likelihood of internal damage to the patient, which in some cases could be fatal.  The Hybrid OR is considered the new “gold standard.”

Dr. Emil Matarese, Medical Director of the Comprehensive Stroke Program at St. Mary, spoke about the impact that the new facility, technology, and people will have on the continuum of neurological and stoke care.  “Our community now has available to them the benefits of world class, university level care, minutes away from home.  And in the case of a stroke, minutes can mean the difference between living independently and a lifetime of confinement,” said Dr. Matarese.  Dr. Matarese also thanked the community for their financial support in making this new space a reality for our patients.