Mary O'Connor, MD, director of the Center for Musculoskeletal Care, shared details about the new ambulatory surgery center with YNHH leaders, physicians and supporters before the official "wall-breaking" to start the project.

Hospital launches musculoskeletal ambulatory surgery center project

It was more of a wall-breaking than a ground-breaking, but at a May 10 ceremony, Yale New Haven Hospital officially launched a project to transform part of the Saint Raphael Campus into a Center for Musculoskeletal Care ambulatory surgery facility.

"We are breaking ground on the musculoskeletal center of the future," said Mary O'Connor, MD, director, Center for Musculoskeletal Care, YNHH and Yale School of Medicine.

Located at the former Michael J. McGivney Center for Cancer Care at the Saint Raphael Campus, the new McGivney Surgical Center will provide same-day surgeries for certain bone, joint and spine conditions, such as shoulder, knee and hip arthroplasties and arthroscopies, and spinal discectomies and fusions.

The center includes six operating rooms and 23 pre- and post-operative beds. Center staff and physicians will provide therapeutic evaluation for patients able to be discharged to home and train appropriate patients to use the new Virtual Exercise Rehabilitation Assistant (VERA). VERA is a sophisticated digital program that guides patients through prescribed physical therapy exercises at home. Patients requiring an overnight stay after surgery will go to one of the Center for Musculoskeletal Care inpatient units at the SRC.

The surgical center will serve an estimated 3,000 new patients a year. It is part of the hospital's vision to create a musculoskeletal center of excellence at the SRC.