Clovis hospital tops 1,000 surgeries in a month

Dr. Peter Simonian, an orthopedic surgeon, scrubs in for surgery at Clovis Community.

As expansion nears, Clovis Community Medical Center continues to see an upswing in its surgery volume. The 1,012 surgeries performed in June marked the second-most ever for the 20-year-old hospital.

The 1,000 surgery plateau has been topped just one other time, with 1,030 procedures in October 2007.

In addition, Clovis Community delivered 326 babies in July. The first time the hospital had ever topped 300 births was in August 2007 with a record 350.

Expansion couldn’t come at a better time, hospital officials say. The $20 million first phase that breaks ground in September calls for a two-story, 22,500-square-foot addition to the outpatient care center.

“We have had a 45% surgical volume growth over the past two years,” Clovis Community CEO Craig Castro said. “This expansion brings top facilities and leading-edge equipment and treatment to better serve our patients.”

July surgeries at the hospital dipped slightly to 964, but overall numbers continue to increase and Clovis Community’s service area is projected to see a population increase of 15,000 within the next five years and a 43% increase in overall growth in the next two decades.

“The average is approximately 850 a month, and has trended up significantly the past two years,” Castro said. “Our outpatient expansion cannot be completed fast enough.”

The first phase of expansion includes the Marjorie E. Radin Breast Care Center and a dedicated four-room endoscopy suite with associated pre-operative, post-operative, and recovery rooms. Four new operating rooms will be added, as well as the only Level 3 in-vitro fertilization center between Los Angeles and Sacramento.

Plans also include an additional 286 parking spaces. Scheduled completion is fall 2009.

This story was reported by Eddie Hughes. He can be reached at eddieh@communitymedical.org.

Monday, August 25, 2008