WORLAND – Washakie Medical Center and Banner Health held a sneak preview open house with a tour of the surgical wing Thursday afternoon. During the tour RN Senior Manager Surgical Services Lisa Gomez explained that the new surgical suite has all the best available medical instruments, and comfort for the patient and staff is the top priority.

Before entering the surgical wing all tour members needed to put on paper booties and paper coats to help maintain the sterility of the environment. The first stop was the new pre-operation area. Gomez stated that the new pre-op area has room for six patients and much more privacy than the original.

The Infusion area, where chemo-therapy will be administered will have comfortable chairs and TVs for the patients and much more privacy, Gomez explained.

The endoscopy suite is large with a high resolution monitor and the power and data cords are situated in the ceiling, making for a much safer area for all those involved.

The two operating rooms have three high resolution flat screen monitors which can show a procedure simultaneously or show different things needed such as x-rays, etc. All cords are also situated above for safety reasons.

Banner Health Washakie Medical Center CEO Jay Stallings stated that the new surgical suite is state of the art and that a better one could not be found anywhere in the world and that the first operation will be Monday morning with Dr. Jeffrey Butte performing the operation.

The Emergency Department is scheduled to be finished in February and the facility is scheduled to be finished in September or October with a grand opening.