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Community Service of the Year Award Winners
Specialty Surgery Center has been awarded Community Service of the Year Award Winners by the Greater Newton Chamber of Commerce.

SPECIALTY SURGICAL CENTER IN SPARTA, NJ, HOSTS OPEN HOUSE FOR NATIONAL ASC DAY

Sparta, NJ − On Thursday, August 12, 2010, Specialty Surgical Center (SSC) held an Open House in celebration of National ASC (Ambulatory Surgery Center) in Sparta, NJ. Over 85 members of the local community attended which included policy makers, medical technology students, and physicians who were treated to personalized tours, BP screenings and a hand washing clinic. Other activities included tours and demonstrations in the central service department, temporary ‘germ‘ tattoos, ‘germ‘ coloring contest, door prizes and refreshments.

        Handwashing Demonstration    DBC students tour OR

With Infection Control as our theme this year, the nursing staff had guests rub a black light reactive lotion on their hands, then wash their hands as they normally would. Even those who washed for the recommended 15 seconds were surprised by the results. Under the black light, any traces of the solution that were not properly washed, glowed under the light.

        From L to R: Donald Mykulak, MD, Skylands Urology and partners @ SSC, Assemblywoman Alison L. McHose, 24th District, Bonnie Brady, RN, Administrator @ SSC, Mary T. Karakos and Ray Cordts from Lakeland Bank enjoy a facility tour.

Sterilization technicians were on hand for tours through the central service department demonstrating sterilization techniques and the intense preparation needed for instrument cleaning. They are responsible for decontaminating, cleaning, processing, assembling, sterilizing, storing and distributing the medical devices and supplies needed in patient care during surgery.

Mark Avondoglio, owner Perona Farms and Tom Comer,
Central Sterilization Dept., review sterilization techniques.

Jorge Zamundo, Instructor Dover Business College (DBC), Chris Beers, Infection Control Specialist @ SSC, Mimi Carpio, RN, Joseph Charleman, Chair, DBC, Anbalagan George, Clinical Coordinator, DBC, have an educational and fun evening.

Specialty Surgery Center (SSC) was featured in NJ Physician magazine as one of the top ASCs in New Jersey.

Specialty Surgery Center (SSC) was named one of the top 17 ASC’s in the country to work for in 2010.

SSC was named as a “Center of Excellence for Spine Procedures”

Bonnie Brady, RN, COO, is now a board member
of the New Jersey Association of Ambulatory Surgery Centers (NJAASC)

The New Jersey Association of Ambulatory Surgery Centers (NJAASC) is an incorporated non-profit organization which was founded in 1992 by owners of ambulatory surgery centers. The mission of the NJAASC is to promote and advance the efforts of New Jersey's ambulatory surgery centers in the delivery of optimum patient care in a cost effective manner. Meetings are attended by owners, administrators, billers and coders, physicians, nursing staff and others with an interest in ambulatory surgery.

The purposes of NJAASC are:

To provide a vehicle for the dissemination of information and communication regarding the ambulatory surgery community in New Jersey.

To provide a unified voice on issues affecting our members.

To monitor state and federal legislation and apply strategic influence towards that which has a potential impact on our members.

To provide educational opportunities for its members.

To engage in activities which promulgate the ambulatory surgery industry.

To interact and collaborate with the Ambulatory Surgery Center Association (ASCA) on state and federal issues.

To provide input directly through ASCA for current and proposed CMS - Medicare reimbursement issues.

Bonnie Brady, RN, Administrator, was named as one of the top 50 administrators to know.

Bonnie was also voted as one of the top 222 people to know in the country.

We were just voted by Becker’s ASC Review as one of the 100 Best Places to Work in Healthcare in the country! Also, in Becker’s Review dated April 2, 2010, Bonnie Brady RN, Administrator, was quoted on 5 ways to reduce costs and bring new business to a surgery center. Check out Becker’s ASC Review on line.

Specialty Surgery Center is now a member of the Sussex County Chamber of Commerce

    Spine Training -- First ASC in the country to host training workshop!

Specialty Surgery Center is devoted to offering patients state-of-the-art minimally invasive spine procedures and is equipped with the latest innovations including the maxMorespine System to perform advanced endoscopic spine procedures which result in better outcomes compared to traditional spine surgery. Specialty Surgery Center is a Certified Spine Center of Excellence offering the local and global medical community on-going educational opportunities for minimally invasive spine procedures.

The comprehensive training model directed by Dr. Atif Malik will include surgical observation of the endoscopic procedure, clinical presentations, inanimate and cadaver hands-on experience. A small group of participants will have an intimate environment in which to gain invaluable experience through each component of the training.

Guest Clinical faculty will be pioneering surgeon, investor and educator Dr. Thomas Hoogland from Munich, Germany. Dr. Thomas Hoogland has devoted his clinical practice and research to the area of endoscopic treatment of spinal diseases since 1989. He has performed over 13,000 minimally invasive spine procedures and has incorporated his extensive expertise in the design of the worldwide-distributed maxMorespine System and the philosophy of the procedure.

Dr. Atif Malik practicing in New Jersey and Maryland, has devoted his expertise and clinical pain specialty practice to include advanced, cutting-edge minimally invasive spine procedures. Dr. Malik is a Certified Clinical Instructor of Endoscopic Spine Surgery and is committed to education and investigation of new devices for enhanced spinal procedure outcomes.

Stephen Espinosa, RN, Voted
        EMPLOYEE OF THE YEAR


Stephen Espinosa and Helen Moreta were nominated for Nurse and Nursing Assistant of the Year by Positive Promotions. They were in the top 8 nominees in the state

SSC was nominated as ‘Best New Business of the Year’ by the Newton Chamber of Commerce

Premier Site to Host EMR!

SSC will be the first ASC in NJ to host the new Vision electronic medical record (EMR) software.

Local Dignitaries Visit SSC during Open House!
        Senator Stephen Oroho, R-24, and Holly Ostby, Western District Coordinator for Congressman Scott Garrett were among those who attended our October Open House. The focus of the open house was to learn more about the high-quality and cost-effective care SSC provides.

SSC has received much press due to the very vocal and proud members of our organization! Quotes, articles and photos have appeared in the following publications:

NJ Herald

Sparta Independent

Star Ledger

Becker’s On-Line ASC Review

Outpatient Surgery Magazine

Focus Magazine

NJ Physician

Holiday Giving
        Thanksgiving season, physicians and employees of SSC collected food and monetary donations for Project Self Sufficiency.
        For Christmas, we held a new toy drive for Ginnie’s House and donated $3,000. to the organization.

     NEW SURGERY USES WATER TO TREAT SPINE PROBLEMS

Sparta, NJ. Water is vital to your body‘s survival, so much so that one group of doctors is trading in scalpels for some H20. It‘s called “hydrocision.” Doctors use a high pressure jet to pump water in and out of the spine. The water removes toxins and other fluids that cause inflammation in the spine. Doctors say the hydrocision procedure is much less invasive than traditional methods. Dr. Atif Malik, a spine specialist, explains, “The heat used to be a limiting factor in terms of how much tissue you could take out of the disc, because as the temperature would rise it would damage the spinal cord.” For more information, contact NJ Sport and Spine Group at 908 684 5800.

     Partnership with Dover Business College

In conjunction with DBC, SSC sponsors Central Service Tech and Surgical Tech students to help complete their education and training in the same-day surgical setting.

    Specialty Surgical Center Achieves AAAHC Accreditation

"Accreditation shows our commitment to providing the highest possible levels of quality care to the community we serve,” said Philip Rubinfeld, MD, Medical Director. “We are pleased and proud to have our efforts recognized with this accreditation.” Thanks to the commitment of the entire staff, accreditation was achieved after an extensive on-site survey of our facility and services.

     Balloon Sinuplasty – Only facility in county to perform this procedure

Balloon Catheter Device Offers Gentler Approach to Clear Blocked Sinuses, Hasten Recovery and Restore Quality of Life

A growing number of patients with chronic sinus problems are choosing a procedure known as Balloon Sinuplasty; a less invasive sinus surgery that employs a tiny balloon that is guided through the nasal passages and then inflated.

Victor G. Gentile, MD otolaryngology, explains, “Chronic sinusitis is more prevalent than arthritis or high blood pressure, restricting activity and decreasing quality of life for more than 37 million Americans annually. If medications don’t work, balloon sinuplasty offers a safe, effective option, which minimizes discomfort for the patient.”

      We are active members of the Newton Chamber of Commerce