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Pointer Salutes:” Archives
Oyster
Pointer Salutes: CHKD
surgery center treats kids with TLC
By
Kelli Caplan
Having surgery can be traumatic for anyone. But it can be an especially
stressful and terrifying experience for a child.
That is where Children’s Hospital of the King’s Daughters
(CHKD) expertise in dealing with youngsters comes into play. The
hospital has mastered the art of making the surgical process comfortable
for children.
 The
team at CHKD’s Surgery Center at Oyster Point includes
surgeons, anesthesiologists, nurses, technicians and administrative
staff. All are specially trained to take care of children “the
CHKD way,” just like at the main hospital in Norfolk. |
To
have surgery at CHKD, however, Peninsula parents for years had to
drive to the Norfolk hospital, sometimes in the wee hours of the
morning for an early appointment.
Luckily, that has changed. In September, CHKD opened a $4 million
pediatric outpatient surgery center at the corner of Rock Landing
Road and Omni Boulevard in Oyster Point. The 12,000 square foot
center is attached to the CHKD Health Center, home to a variety
of pediatric specialists and pediatricians.
With two state-of-the-art operating suites and a procedure room,
doctors are now able to perform a large number of outpatient surgeries
in Newport News. All of the staff at the center has been trained
at CHKD in Norfolk. There is no difference at all from having surgery
at the main hospital, says Deena Carney, the center’s manager.
All of the comforting perks that have made the CHKD experience so
nice for children are available at the Oyster Point center.
“Everything here is exactly like CHKD in miniature,” says
George Stinnett, CHKD spokesman. “We have worked incredibly
hard to make the experience at Oyster Point the CHKD experience.
This is CHKD on the Peninsula.”
For example, while waiting to go into surgery, youngsters can play
to their hearts’ content with an enormous amount of toys. When
children are called back, they can either drive themselves in a
toy car or be pushed in a wagon. The atmosphere immediately puts
little ones at ease. For teenagers, the center is equipped with
appropriate movies and games.
“We have stuff for kids made especially for kids. What I find
most important is we don’t refit the adult world to fit kids,”
Carney says. “Everything we use is made for kids.”
In addition, the hospital allows children to pick a fun fragrance
that is put on their anesthesia mask. Favorite scents include bubble
gum, cotton candy, and root beer. That simple choice can make for
a graceful transition from the waiting room to the surgical suite,
Carney says. And when a child wakes up, he or she is treated to
a flavored slushy drink, like a Slurpee®, that comes out of
a machine that looks just like those found in a convenience store.
“The kids love this,” Carney says with a laugh. “This
piece of equipment was a priority.”
CHKD not only offers child-oriented fun at the center, but also
the first-class pediatric care that the Norfolk hospital is known
for. Several doctors from CHKD rotate through the Newport News center,
Carney says. Outside surgeons also can use the facility.
“The treatment and experience here is identical to Norfolk,
except for the travel part,” Stinnett says.
Surgeons perform a variety of operations at the center, including
those that involve orthopedic; urologic; plastic; ear, nose and
throat; ophthalmologic and gastro-intestinal issues. General pediatric
surgery is also done at the site. It is the first outpatient surgical
center that CHKD has opened outside of its Norfolk campus.
As more and more area families traveled to CHKD for care, the hospital
realized the importance of making a large commitment to children
on this side of the water, Stinnett says. The number of Peninsula
patients who had driven to Norfolk for outpatient surgery had increased
by 43 percent since 1999. The center serves young people from Smithfield
to Gloucester. Families from Northern Virginia have even traveled
to Newport News to use the facility.
The surgery center, which is open five days a week, is expected
to host 1,500 surgeries each year.
“There was a tremendous need to perform operations on the Virginia
Peninsula,” says Dr. Robert Kelly, chief of the Department
of Surgery for CHKD. “It has been a real challenge for families
to get to downtown Norfolk.” Kelly says he is thrilled with
the facility.
“The health system has really brought the nicest and most elegant
of everything to this center,” he says.
Parents are also excited to have the center here, Carney says. “We
get phone calls saying ‘this is the best thing that has ever
happened.’ It’s been incredible. People really love it.” |
