Many patients have a favorite hospital. It may be their favorite because it’s close to home, their primary care physician works out of that hospital, or they’ve had a positive experience there in the past. Whatever the reason, many patients want to ensure their surgery can be done at their favorite hospital.
As an independent physician, Dr. Betsy Nolan has admitting privileges and can perform surgeries at multiple hospitals in the state of Oklahoma. While hospital choice for the patient is important, other factors may impact where your surgery takes place.
Some area hospitals have dedicated joint wards with specialized nurses and therapists who spend all of their time taking care of joint replacement patients. Specialized joint wards have a lower risk of infection since nurses are not also treating patients with major infections.
For some patients, the availability of other specialists impacts hospital choice. For example, a patient with a history of lung issues might be best treated at a hospital with a pulmonologist readily available.
Availability of certain implants can also affect hospital choice, as different hospitals may have contracts with different device companies. Most patients will select a hospital simply based on availability for when surgery best fits their schedule.
Dr. Betsy Nolan works with each patient to determine the best hospital location for their surgery. She performs surgeries at the following hospitals.
- OU Medical Center Edmond, located at 1 South Bryant in Edmond. The specialized joint replacement ward has large rooms with pullout couches to accommodate family members or friends who wish to stay with the patient.
- Southwest Medical Center, located at 5602 SW Lee Boulevard in Lawton. Dr. Nolan also offers clinic hours every other week in Lawton to see patients from southern Oklahoma and north Texas.
- Surgery Center of Oklahoma, located at 9500 N. Broadway in Oklahoma City. SCO is an outpatient surgical facility that provides an upfront cost listed on their website for all procedures. Only outpatient procedures may be performed here, so patients must be healthy enough for a quick recovery. Patients who are having a procedure covered by most government insurance carriers (i.e., Medicare, Tricare) are not eligible to have their procedure done at SCO.
- Mercy Hospital, located at 4300 W. Memorial Road in Oklahoma City. Dr. Nolan does not perform many surgeries at Mercy, but it is an option for patients who live in the area or whose primary care doctors are based at Mercy.
- Mercy Edmond I-35, located at 2017 W. I-35 Frontage Road, is a nice, efficient, newer facility for outpatient procedures only. This facility does not do any joint replacement procedures. Patients using Tricare are not eligible to use this facility.
- AllianceHealth Midwest, located at 2825 Parklawn Drive in Midwest City. Dr. Nolan does not perform many surgeries at this location either, but it is an option for Midwest City patients or those who prefer this hospital.
Dr. Nolan no longer goes to the VA hospital. However, she is happy to see VA patients at her clinic in Midtown or at the new Lawton location and can perform surgeries for them at one of the hospitals listed above. VA patients may continue to go to the VA for their other benefits, such as physical or occupational therapy, and use the outpatient pharmacy there.
By Oklahoma Shoulder Center PLLC
February 28, 2018
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