Facility Standards: Surgical Suites/Anesthesia

Facility Standards: Surgical Suites/Anesthesia 1. The operating room (OR) must be staffed and available in-house 24 hours/day. 2. An operating room must be adequately staffed and available within 30 minutes of time of notification. Availability of the operating room personnel and timeliness of starting operations must be continuously evaluated by the trauma performance improvement process, and measures must be implemented to ensure optimal care. 3. The OR nurses must participate in the care of the pediatric trauma patient and be competent in the surgical stabilization of the major pediatric trauma patient. The Surgical nurses are an integral member of the trauma team and must participate in the ongoing PI process of the pediatric trauma program and be represented on the Multidisciplinary Trauma Committee. 4. The OR supervisor must be able to demonstrate a prioritization scheme to assure the availability of an operating room for the emergency pediatric patient during a busy operative schedule. There must be an on-call system for additional personnel for multiple patient admissions. 5. The anesthesia department in a tertiary pediatric Trauma Center must be organized and run by an anesthesiologist who has a special interest in the care of the injured pediatric patient. Anesthesiologist on the pediatric trauma team must have successfully completed an anesthesia residency program approved by the Accreditation Council of Graduate Medical Education or the American Board of Osteopathic Specialists and have board certification in anesthesia. One anesthesiologist must maintain commitment to education in trauma related anesthesia. 6. Anesthesia must be available in-house 24hours/day. Anesthesia Chief Residents or Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNAs) who are capable of assessing emergency situations in pediatric trauma patient and of providing indicated treatment, including initiation of surgical anesthesia may fill this requirement. When the CRNA or chief resident is used to meet this requirement, the staff Anesthesiologist on-call will be available within 30 minutes, and present for all operations. 7. Hospital policy must be established to determine when the anesthesiologist must be immediately available for airway control and assisting with resuscitation. The availability of the anesthesiologist and the absence of delays in airway control or operative anesthesia must be documented and monitored by the PI process. The maximum response time for all trauma patients is 30 minutes from the time notified to respond. 8. The list of required equipment necessary for Surgery and Anesthesia can be found online at the department’s website.