It's hot and humid, probably one of the hottest locations in the hospital. It's noisy. It's on the street level and all the comings and goings in the hospital complex go past the open front. It’s a place of anxiety, boredom, pain and joy. It’s not a very comfortable place to be yet it’s the place where the results of our efforts are most readily seen.
It’s the pre-op and recovery ward run by Michelle, our Ward Coordinator. All our patients pass through here during their surgical stays. The Ward is in one very large room in an older section of the hospital aptly named, Children’s Survival. In addition to hosting our ward, the single large room also hosts mother and child exams for the regular hospital patrons. All this activity adds to the noise and confusion that Michelle sorts through daily.
Once patients check in with the hospital they are sent to the pre-op ward where they’ll stay until called upstairs for surgery. Michelle assigns them a cot, writes their name on one arm and their patient number on the other. This helps speed them through the process of getting them ready for surgery.
Keeping kids and parents occupied is a tough task in a crowded, noisy, hot environment. Rotaplast members brought toys, coloring books, crayons, markers and puzzles to help ease both the boredom and the anxiety. Through the day a bond forms between the staff and the patients, and a camaraderie forms between the patients. Simple activities such as coloring breach the language barrier. Lisa from medical records got a game of balloon volleyball going to help burn off nervous energy among kids and staff alike.
Sheila Mackell, MD, Lead Pediatritian makes the morning rounds of the recovery ward
After surgery, patients return to the recovery portion of the ward where they mostly rest over night under the watchful eyes of the Cebu Rotaplast staff. Physicians and nurses take turns being on-call and checking the patient’s progress. Some patients whose surgery was more involved stay longer in post-op but most of the simpler cases leave on the morning after their procedure.
David Sparks, RN, OR Nurse follows up with one of his patients in recovery. This boy had extensive work done on both the palate and lip, and is recovering well.