“Our case total for last year was 1,967 and, as of mid-October, we have done more than 1,850 cases,” says Donna Carmignani, nurse manager for the facility. “We still have half of October, November and December to go and anticipate the last weeks of the year to be busier ones due to everyone trying to bet their procedures in before their deductibles start again in January.”
With such rapid and continuing growth over a short period of time, it wouldn’t be surprising to see some staff members feeling overwhelmed and unhappy with the increase in caseload.
But by encouraging staff to share their thoughts and ideas about the ASC’s operations and encouraging a team mentality, DuPage has flourished and kept its staff happy in the process.
“We have gone through many changes and staff have adapted well to the new transitions,” says Donna Carmignani, nurse manager for the facility. “We allow staff to get involved in decision-making on a lot of matters. They are allowed to give input and then it goes to our committee for discussion in order to make any decisions.”
In some matters of interest to the entire staff, such as determining days for paid time off (PTO), DuPage has created staff committees to address these issues to encourage outcomes the staff can find reasonable.
“We have put together a PTO committee in order for time off to be fair for all staff and so the same people are not always taking off for days that are high request off days,” says Ms. Carmignani. “Having a smaller staff doesn’t allow for more than one or two people to be off which can sometimes pose a challenge; however, staff have worked well together on this.”
The center has 20 active physicians, a majority of which are partners, performing only orthopedic and pain procedures. The physicians are on staff at two area hospitals, one of which recently ranked 37th in the country for orthopaedics in U.S. News & World Report’s “Best Hospitals Report.”
These physicians and the center’s anesthesia team regularly find opportunities to spend time with and get to know the staff members.
“Staff enjoy their time with the physician’s and on long surgical days, being able to have lunch with them and interact outside of the OR allows them to get to know each other better,” says Ms. Carmignani. “We have a great anesthesia team that comes here to do our cases and they have been wonderful to work with and interact with my staff in a positive way to make the flow of patient care go smoothly.
“I can only see our facility getting better as time goes on, if that is possible,” says Ms. Carmignani.
Learn more about DuPage Orthopaedic Surgery Center.
Note: Look for a list of some of the best ASCs to work at in the Jan./Feb. issue of Becker’s ASC Review.