Caring for sick children

By Kristine gill

kgill@vindy.com

boardman

The new pediatric surgery center at Akron Children’s Hospital of the Mahoning Valley will operate on its first patient Tuesday.

The Beeghly Campus center had tours Friday of its 14,000-square-foot renovation, which cost $7 million. “Before, families had to take their children to Akron, Cleveland and Pittsburgh” for some surgeries, said Sharon Hrina, vice president of Akron Children’s Hospital Mahoning Valley Enterprises.

“Now, they go to adult hospitals with no pediatric nurses or anesthesiologists. A pediatric center is very different than an adult hospital.”

Only $1.4 million of the entire budget was spent on actually remodeling the space, and the rest was spent on the technology it houses.

The center features some of the most high-tech equipment available including an in-house sanitation system for surgical tools and 42-inch high-definition TVs on which doctors can view X-rays.

A new, computerized charting system catalogs a patient’s records from admission to discharge, and supply and medicine cabinets also are computerized to keep better track of inventory and billing.

The center will offer seven services, including dental, urology, gastrology, ENT (ear, nose and throat), orthopedics, plastics and pulmonology.

Construction of the center began this year and took only eight months. The building used to serve as an outpatient-surgery center but has been converted to accommodate children.

The finished product includes four presurgery bays and eight recovery bays where parents can sit with their children.

There are two operating rooms in use, and a third that is being used for storage until needed. An extended-stay recovery bay includes a PlayStation to keep patients occupied.

There is a changing room for patients and a conference room for doctors and families as well as a waiting room just outside the presurgery bays and operating rooms.

Donated stuffed animals and blankets wait at the foot of each bed, and colorful tile and carpeting cover the floors.

The hospital hired 28 employees for the center for a total of 445 employed by Akron Children’s Hospital of the Mahoning Valley.

“We’ve made a major contribution to the jobs outlook in [the] Mahoning Valley,” Hrina said.

Sue Kuderca, manager of surgical services for the center, was hired in July.

Kuderca said patients are taken on weekly tours with their families the week before their surgery to become familiar with the surroundings. They’re even encouraged to play with face masks and gowns beforehand.

“That way, it’s not quite as scary,” Kuderca said.

Kuderca said the staff is excited to be working in a new facility.

“I’ve been in surgery for 32 years, but I’ve never had the opportunity to start something from scratch,” she said.