December 12, 2024
Kootenai Health has been named a Robotic Surgery Center of Excellence by the Surgical Review Corporation. The prestigious national designation recognizes Kootenai Health for delivering the highest standard of robotic surgical care across multiple specialties, including urology, gynecology, cardiothoracic and general surgery.
“Our team’s commitment to innovation and exceptional care has always been at the forefront of our work,” said Kim Jorgensen, Executive Director of Perioperative and Women and Children’s Services at Kootenai Health. “The Robotic Surgery Center of Excellence designation is a testament to the skill, expertise, and dedication of our entire staff. It’s a proud moment for all of us.”
Earlier this year, Christi, a patient at Kootenai Health, experienced the benefits of robotic surgery for herself. After being diagnosed with hemorrhagic cysts in her uterus, she and her Kootenai Clinic OB-GYN, Shelby Apodaca, M.D., made the decision to remove her uterus; a procedure known as a hysterectomy. Dr. Apodaca said she could do the procedure robotically.
“I had heard that the recovery time with robotic surgery was faster than laparoscopic,” Christi said. “I was skeptical, but my experience was amazing. My surgery was at 7:15 in the morning, and I was home by 1:15 that same day. I used the pain meds I’d been prescribed the next day, but after that I just didn’t need them.”
Kootenai Health is the only hospital in the Inland Northwest to hold the Robotic Surgery Center of Excellence designation, establishing it as a leader in advanced surgical care. In addition to Kootenai Health’s overall recognition, two surgeons, Nathan Meltzer, M.D. (OB-GYN) and Edward DeTar, M.D. (General Surgery), received the Surgeon of Excellence in Robotic Surgery designation.
“Robotic surgery allows us to perform complex procedures with greater precision, which ultimately leads to improved patient outcomes,” said Dr. Meltzer, an OB/GYN and surgeon at Kootenai Health. “We are proud to be a Center of Excellence. It’s added reassurance that the care our patients receive is among the best in the nation, and they can get that high quality care close to home.”
For Christi, that benefit meant her family didn’t have to take time off work to care for her. Knowing that staying active would help her recovery, she would walk around her driveway so if she got tired, she was never more than a few steps away from her front door. Just four weeks after her surgery, Christi was able to return to work with only a few lifting restrictions.
“Our community deserves the very best, and that’s what we strive to deliver every day,” said Jorgensen. “This recognition proves that we are at the forefront of surgical care and our patients—many of whom are our neighbors, friends, and families—receive the best treatment possible.”
Since the program began in 2008, more than 6,000 people in our community have experienced the benefit of smaller incisions, a shorter hospital stay, and quicker recovery time.
In 2018 the original robot was replaced with a newer model, and in 2020, a second robot was added to the growing program. Today 19 surgeons along with a specially trained surgical support team perform about 1,000 procedures annually.
To earn the Center of Excellence designation, Kootenai Health had to document its training, quality and outcomes not only in its surgical program, but in its emergency department, trauma program, intensive care unit, and more. The process took more than a year with Kootenai’s robotic surgical steering committee working closely with Surgical Review Corporation to provide proof they were meeting all the organization’s high standards.
As an added benefit, robotic surgery is also helping keep more surgeons working longer.
“It really does extend a surgeon’s career another 10 years,” said Jorgensen. “Because they can work while seated at the robot’s console and don’t have to be on their feet for the entire surgery, it’s not as physically taxing. I’m glad to see many of our experienced surgeons continuing to work and provide care in our community.”
It’s a sentiment Christi agrees with.
“If I need to have surgery again and robotic surgery is an option, that would be my choice,” Christi said. “It was even better than I thought it would be.”
