ore than 10,000 surgeries, totaling 37,417 surgical hours, were performed at M. D. Anderson last year. Along with chemotherapy and radiation therapy, surgery remains one of the key treatment options for cancer patients.

Innovative surgical procedures — including tumor reduction surgery, radiofrequency ablation, stereotactic biopsies, lymph node mapping, functional mapping aiding in the resection of brain tumors, and sacral, breast and facial reconstruction surgery — are now performed in the new operating rooms of the Albert B. and Margaret M. Alkek Hospital.

The surgical suite includes 26 operating rooms, with a sterile core design allowing for separation of patient, equipment and supply flow. It also offers the capability to provide radiation therapy during surgery, with special rooms accommodating the latest in microscopic technology. A holding/ recovery area is located nearby for monitoring pre- and post-operative changes in patients.

“The PSCs are the glue that hold the care centers together,” says Patricia Simon, an educational specialist for performance improvement. “Many of the daily tasks that keep the clinics on track are performed by these individuals. A good PSC can mean the difference between a smoothly functioning center and chaos.”

Before opening the outpatient care centers, the PSCs pick up patient charts from the Department of Health Information Management and prepare the exam rooms for the day’s appointments. They spend the rest of the day creating patient schedules, maintaining physicians’ on-line calendars, entering treatment and procedure charges into the computer, and arranging diagnostic tests and physician consultations. After the last patient is seen, they close the center.

The PSCs are part of an overall institutional effort to improve patient service and delivery of care through a myriad of continuous improvement projects.