Dartmouth General Hospital, Fred Smithers Centre for Orthopedic Care team breaks their own record

Two months after setting an Atlantic Canada record for the most joint replacements completed by a single team, in a single operating room, in one day, a Dartmouth General Hospital (DGH) orthopedic surgery team broke their own record on Friday. 

During their third high-volume orthopedic surgery day since December at the DGH Fred Smithers Centre for Orthopedic Care, eight joint replacements were completed in a single operating day, under the leadership of orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Jhase Sniderman, anesthetist Dr. Christopher Cheung, a dedicated nursing team and other staff. 

“Optimizing inefficiencies within our healthcare system has always been a challenge,” said Sniderman. “Through tremendous teamwork and planning, Dartmouth General Hospital has proven what can be done to deliver timely, safe and efficient care for our orthopedic patients.”

DGH has begun using the term ‘ortho productivity day’ to reflect their focus on increasing patient access and delivering high quality care through optimized workflows, while maintaining the same clinical standards that guide their daily practice.

“Each ortho productivity day allows us to reduce the provincial waitlist and support more patients to return home with improved mobility, reduced pain, and a better quality of life,” said Dr. Scott Mawdsley, site head of surgery at Dartmouth General Hospital. 

“This level of performance depends on seamless collaboration across disciplines, including the team delivering care in the operating room, the Orthopedic Assessment Clinic and prehabilitation teams that prepare patients for surgery and support them in recovery, and the medical device reprocessing and environmental services staff who are essential to safe and efficient turnovers,” said Mawdsley. 

As with standard operating days, providing each patient the same high standard of care remains the team’s primary focus. The difference on targeted high productivity days lies in shaving off the time it takes to turn over the operating room between cases. By having the room ready for the next patient sooner, the team can make the best possible use of operating room resources while maintaining safety and quality. 

Learn more:

• Dartmouth General Hospital team sets Atlantic Canada joint replacement record | Nova Scotia Health
• Orthopedic Assessment Clinic (OAC) teams drive shorter wait times and better outcomes for joint replacement patients | Nova Scotia Health

Photo (courtesy of DGH Foundation): Nova Scotia Health and Dartmouth General Hospital Foundation team members join to celebrate breaking another record -- eight joint replacements completed by a single team, in a single operating room in one day at the DGH Fred Smithers Centre for Orthopedic Care.