A new orthopedic pavilion is hoping its nontraditional amenities and "one-stop shop model" will distinguish it from the competition.
By SHANNON TAN
Published August 1, 2004
[Times photo: Carrie Pratt]
Mary Libroth kisses her husband, John, after his knee surgery at the Largo Medical Center on Monday. Before the surgery, he stayed away from golf, yard work, staircases and hilly areas.
LARGO - A concierge checks you into a room overlooking a golf course.
Go ahead, sip a latte and listen to music at the piano bar before joining other guests in the Key Largo theater room for a buffet meal. Practice your golf swing on the mini putting green. A stylist will even come to your room to wash and blow dry your hair.
This is what joint replacement surgery looks like at the new $1-million Florida Knee & Orthopedic Pavilion on the fifth floor of Largo Medical Center.
Doctors say the environment promotes faster recovery. The swanky amenities attract more patients in a competitive market for elective surgery popular with seniors.
Nearly 400 patients have checked into the 17-room pavilion since it opened three months ago. The center expects to serve 1,500 patients a year. And it already plans on expanding.
"We put in the one-stop shop model where everything is under one umbrella and it's really customized to meet the patients' needs," said Linda Carter, director of business development. "People today like convenience. They're more savvy in picking places."
In Pinellas County, there are probably 10 other hospitals within a 10-mile radius from Largo Medical Center, Carter said. Implementing a "philosophy of wellness" helps distinguish the orthopedic pavilion from its rivals, she said.
But other area hospitals also have begun offering nontraditional amenities.
Maternity wards are giving women the five-star treatment. Morton Plant Hospital offers a "room service" menu, and volunteers bring a gift cart around the hospital. Florida Hospital Orthopedic Institute in Winter Park serves afternoon tea and offers complimentary massages.
In the Joint Replacement Center at Florida Hospital Celebration, near Orlando, patients enjoy rose gardens, fold-out couches in 20 private rooms and a fitness center open to their family members.
It was unique when it opened six years ago. But not anymore.
"It's a competitive edge when you take that approach toward medicine vs. the traditional clinical approach to medicine," said Meg Gaffney, nurse coordinator.
In all those places, the goal is to treat patients like hotel guests.
"These are people who are here to get their knees fixed," said Dr. Ronald Hayter, one of three orthopedic surgeons at the Florida Knee & Orthopedic Pavilion. "They're not sick people."
Pavilion patients are chauffeured from home to the hospital. They check in the night before the surgery with a family member who stays in the same room. A housekeeper makes sure there's a fresh supply of towels and clean sheets.
They're given a disposable camera and photo album to record memories of their stay. Magazines, a big-screen TV and games like Scrabble and Yahtzee help pass the time. Casablanca and Key Largo movie posters line the pink walls in an effort to connect with the older guests.
The way the hospital is designed affects patient health and safety as well as staff morale, according to a recent study by the Center for Health Design in California.
Hospitals are trying to shy away from cold, sterile environments by hanging artwork and building gardens, said Sara Marberry, communications director at the center. These features help comfort patients and reduce stress.
That approach seems to be working at the knee pavilion at Largo Medical Center.
"It's like being in a four-star hotel," said Robert Hall, 66, who lives at the Villages of Lake Sumter. "Everybody here is so friendly and outgoing."
Non-coffee drinker Jerry Luther, 76, got to have his hot tea. Robie DeWitt, 55, of Lakeland, didn't even need to come back for a post-op checkup. She snapped three different shots of the scar on her right knee with the disposable camera, sent the pictures back and was then updated on her progress.
Patients undergoing the same surgery check in, dine and exercise together. Family members act as "coaches" for patients to help with their recovery.
As Dr. Hayter operates on her husband, Mary Libroth chows down on a buffet meal of roast beef, mashed potatoes and carrot cake.
John Libroth, 79, of Ruskin, has been unable to golf or work in the yard because of his stiff knees. He avoids staircases and hilly areas. Then he saw an advertisement for a seminar on partial knee resurfacing surgery.
The 30-minute resurfacing surgery is much less invasive than total knee replacement. Patients go home the next day and are back to their normal routine in a few weeks. Hayter compares it to having your car brakes realigned.
Costs vary by patient, but the average Medicare reimbursements are $8,000 to $10,000 for knee resurfacing surgery.
As jazz music from WSJT-FM 94.1 plays in the background, Hayter makes a 3-inch incision in Libroth's left knee, where much of the cartilage has been worn away. He saws into the bone to create a space to put the implant.
A plastic disc is cemented into one side of the knee, and a curved metal piece is aligned properly and placed into the other side. Hayter then flexes the knee to ensure a proper fit.
A catheter inserted into the joint provides a continuous infusion of pain medication. It is removed before the patient goes home. The small sutures dissolve, so patients don't have to return for their stitches to be removed.
After the surgery, Libroth rests in the recovery room. His wife gives him a kiss and tells him about the carrot cake they served for lunch.
I want to play golf tomorrow, he says with a smile.
Call the Florida Knee & Orthopedic Pavilion at 588-5584. To register for a seminar on partial knee resurfacing, call the Largo Medical Center at 588-5702.
