OGH to Build Ambulatory Surgery Center

Olean General Hospital has announced plans to build a free-standing outpatient ambulatory surgery center on the hospital campus at 500 Main St. in Olean.

An ambulatory surgery center is a medical facility in which surgical procedures not requiring an overnight hospital stay are performed.

Olean General Hospital’s new 22,000-square-foot ambulatory surgical structure will include four operating suites and three endoscopic suites, and will also include pre-operative and post-operative recovery areas, waiting rooms, consultation areas, and support space. The hospital currently performs over 7,600 ambulatory surgical procedures each year.

“Because free-standing ambulatory surgery centers have become the standard of care for outpatient surgery, we want area patients to have access to this type of surgical facility,” said Timothy J. Finan, president and CEO of Olean General Hospital and Upper Allegheny Health System, the parent company of Olean General and Bradford Regional Medical Center.

“This new ambulatory surgery center will allow patients to park right next to the facility, walk in, receive their outpatient surgical procedure, and return home the same day. There will no longer be any need for these patients to have to enter the main hospital building,” Mr. Finan said. “Additionally, and very importantly, we believe this project will be very helpful in terms of our ability to recruit new surgeons to the Olean area. During our conversations with potential surgical recruits there are always inquiries about the availability of an ambulatory surgical center at the hospital.”

Regulatory approval for the project was recently received from the New York State Department of Health. The project will “break ground” in late September. Currently, detailed design work is under way. The project will cost $10.3 million and construction will take approximately one year to complete.

Artwork courtesy of Olean General