By Tami S. Scott
Rome Health is making positive and significant changes to local, community based healthcare. By investing in new technology and a comprehensive master facility plan, the hospital is prepared to deliver the best care “here” — in Rome, N.Y. – so local patients can stay local.
Now in the final phases of a years-long master facility plan, administrators will soon see the fruits of their labor come to life with the construction of a 30,000 square-foot, three-floor modernized addition that will replace the hospital’s current operating rooms and intensive care unit.
Its advancements in new technology, including the Da Vinci Xi surgical system, the 7D Image-guided surgical system for spine care, and EUS and ERCP equipment for GI purposes, benefit both surgeons and patients, particularly those with complex cases. And with its recent expansion of gastroenterology services, patient needs will be fully met without the hassle of long distance travel or months-long waiting periods.
“Our goal was to match the skill set of our physicians with the desire of our community to receive local healthcare here, and match that with the technology we have available to them to provide those services,” said Chief Medical Officer Cristian Andrade, MD.
A new surgical center and intensive care unit
The new Kaplan Center for Surgical Services (named in honor of philanthropists Charles and Florence Kaplan) will be transformed from its existing design to a contemporary, stateof- the-art surgical center with four new operating rooms, two new procedure rooms, and a pre- and post-op area that will be located directly next to the ORs — important for not only flow of care but also patient satisfaction, said
Chief Operating Officer Ryan Thompson, MBA, FACHE. The front entrance, lobby and waiting room are also being
remade.
Construction will be completed in three phases. The addition for the ORs and ICU is under construction and will be open in mid-2025. In the second phase, the old ORs will be repurposed for pre-op and post-op space. The third phase creates staff support space and will be complete by mid-2026.
“When we make facility changes in our design, we really focus on making sure that we’re finding the balance first and foremost of how it’s going to impact the patient,” Thompson said. “Second, how it’s going to work for the teams that are providing care, including the physicians and advanced practice clinicians and nurses, and even the workflow of our environmental services staff. And then third, to make sure that staff has a space they can go to provide respite during the day, as they’re very busy providing care.”
The new nine-bed ICU considers all aspects of patient and care team needs. Among the highlights are larger individual rooms to accommodate not only the critical care team and necessary equipment but also family members so they too can participate in their loved one’s healing journey.
“We all know that family participation and loved ones’ care lends itself to better patient outcomes,” said Acute Care Director Kelly West, R.N., B.S.N. “And that’s very important to us.”
The rooms also boast specialty beds to reduce the risk of pressure wounds, specialty rooms for behavioral health population, private restrooms with accessibility features, an advanced ventilation system for infection control, more natural daylight to aid in healing, and charting located at pods adjacent to the bedside to allow for closer connection with the patient.
King + King Architects and Haynor Hoyt Corporation built a mockup of the ICU and the OR in the hospital garage so staff could experience what the rooms would look like and how large they would be. “We put the outlets on the walls where we wanted them, we put monitors on the walls where we would want them,” said Vicki Weiss, R.N., OR nurse manager. “Some of the small things that you wouldn’t think were important are so important to the staff.”
The $45.7 million capital project is being funded through a partnership of more than $29 million in public funding and private philanthropy, including a $26 million New York State Transformation Grant and $3 million in ARPA funds from the City of Rome. The Rome Health Foundation kicked off the public phase of the capital campaign in January with $14.2 million already raised. The goal is to raise $16.5 million.
“We’re about a million and a half dollars away from hitting that overall goal,” Thompson said. “It’s just tremendous support from the community to be able to hit that.”
Advanced technology, gastroenterology services
“The DaVinci Xi Surgical System was among the first new pieces of equipment that Rome Health acquired and was very well received by our medical staff colleagues,” said Chief Medical Officer Cristian Andrade, MD. The goal was to get staff trained and able to utilize the robot well before the new surgical center is open, and the plan “went seamlessly,” he said. “We had our first non-proctored surgery with robotic assistance performed on June 12 by our general surgeon, Dr. [Keneth] Hall,” — also a bariatric surgeon.
Since then, Rome Health has equipped other general surgeons and gynecologists to perform robotic assisted surgery. “We will likely be doing some urologic procedures in the near future as well,” Dr. Andrade added.
Dr. Hall explained the benefits of robotic-assisted surgeries as enhancing surgical precision, control, and efficiency. “This advanced system enables smaller incisions, leading to reduced pain, scarring, and faster recovery times. It also decreases the risk of complications and improves surgical outcomes,” he said. “The robot’s capabilities streamline surgeries, allowing for more efficient use of operating room time and potentially increasing patient throughput.”
General surgeon Dr. Samuel Molica, DO is hopeful that the advanced technology will prevent the more difficult minimally invasive procedures from being converted to open.
The same benefits and even more apply to the 7D Image-guided surgical system for spinal surgeries.
“The advantages we have received from using the 7D technology is that infection rates are minimal to non existent and patients who may have been at high risk now have the opportunity to receive the needed surgery due to the smaller incisions and how minimally invasive the procedure can be,” said Dr. Nicholas Qandah (aka Dr. Q), a leading back and spine surgeon in the CNY region.
Rome Health administrators also found a way to combat the regional shortage of gastroenterologists by establishing a GI practice this past spring at the Medical Center on the main campus of the hospital.
“When we got together as an administrative team to develop a physician development plan, it became very clear from a community needs assessment that there was a significant need for gastroenterology services to be provided here locally,” Dr. Andrade said. “If you look at that specific specialty, lots of times, patients here would have to be transferred sometimes two or three hours away to be able to get the level of care we’re going to be able to provide right here at home.”
Rome Health recruited two board certified gastroenterologists, Dr. Aamer Mirza, MD, who has been practicing for more than 24 years, and most recently Dr. W. Asher Wolf, MD. “They’ve been very well-received by the community. We’ve already seen the demand for their services skyrocket,” Dr. Andrade said. Dr. Wolf ’s advanced background includes providing patients with endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) and endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) services. Consequently, Rome Health invested in the equipment to perform these procedures.
“There’s only a handful of other gastroenterologists in the Central New York region that provide these procedures,” Dr. Andrade said. Additionally, with Dr. Wolf on board, Rome Health is now offering weekend appointments for colonoscopies, providing greater accessibility and convenience for patients.
Keeping it local
Rome Health decided long ago to set its sights on the needs and wants of its community — to have access to the best physicians with advanced technology — locally.
“When we decided to acquire these different technologies, first of all, the patient was at the center of it, really keeping in mind what the desire for the community has been, and [it] really has been to receive quality care right here at home,” Dr. Andrade said. Dr. Qandah drove it home: “Our top priority is to bring ideal health care to our region. That way we can deliver the care locally and patients can get better quicker in their own home, in their own
community.”
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