Andrews Institute selected best in pain control

The Andrews Institute has been selected as a 2010 OR Excellence Award winner by Outpatient Surgery Magazine for pain control due to the advanced techniques used in the ambulatory surgery center, according to a press release.

Recipients of the award are recognized as the country’s “extraordinary leaders” and “finest surgical facilities,” according to the release, and are chosen for outstanding contributions to the ambulatory surgery industry and for the examples they have set.

Regional blocks and pain pumps are just one of the innovative procedures used at Andrews Institute’s Ambulatory Surgery Center (ASC). These blocks greatly reduce the need for post-operative narcotics and boost a patient’s outlook toward recovery efforts such as rehabilitation, often increasing their rate of recovery, the release noted.

“Without narcotics, patients can interact with family, eat and drink, and maintain control of their pain, because they’re out ahead of it,” Terri Gatton, RN, CNOR, CASC, ASC administrator, noted.

Gregory Hickman, MD, ASC director of anesthesiology and medical director, estimates that the majority of all hospital patients and more than half of all surgery center patients are administered opioids in postoperative care. To date, only 12% to 20% of Andrews Institute ASC patients were given narcotics in 2010.

“We’re setting a benchmark,” Hickman stated. “It’s hard to beat what we’re doing. Not only is this an incredible tool for pain management, it’s allowing us to establish an efficiency model as well, as patients are routinely discharged on time and post-operative nurses can function in other roles such as block nurses.”