MRMC Hosts Operating Room Tour and Open House

(Moberly, MO – June 30, 2017) – It’s not usually a good thing if you’re awake or remember your experience in an Operating Room. Thanks to modern anesthesia, most of us are in a blissful state of twilight while medical staff roll us back to meet the surgeon. And we generally don’t remember a thing until we wake up in Recovery to a kind nurse, ice chips and a warm blanket. We don’t ever see the surgeon and the surgical team in action, get to check out the fascinating technology they use to fix us or even see what the room looks like.

With that in mind, as part of its Your life. Better. health talk series, Moberly Regional Medical Center recently did something it rarely does: open its Operating Room to the public for tours. In this unique, educational and fun experience, MRMC invited attendees to the south wing of the hospital to meet surgeons on its medical staff, savor appetizers by Chef Jeff, hone their operating skills on the latest surgery robot and gown up for an OR experience they aren’t likely to forget anytime soon

“It’s important for our community to see what can be done at their hospital,” said MRMC CEO Ranee Brayton, “So many times we think bigger is better, and we need to go to a larger hospital to have our surgeries. We all fall victim to that kind of thinking at some point. Our goal for this evening was to dispel some of that myth and shine the light on an area of MRMC that we are proud to offer Moberly and surrounding communities.”

The South Wing was filled with surgeons and their staff discussing their specialties and latest procedures with participants.

The surgery robot has been a much-heralded new addition to the surgical tools used at MRMC. Attendees lined up to try out their operation skills on a simulator robot surgeons use for training. After getting the basics down on the simulator, the “new surgeons” moved on to a real robot set up in the next room. The rookie surgeons performed “operations” on a plastic abdomen filled with squishy organ-like obstacles using the robotic arms to attach rubber bands to cones, suture surgical sites and move around objects. This attraction was busy the entire evening with everyone from school children, to CEOs, to other doctors. Your life. Better. Community Advisory Board members staffed the next station signing people up for the actual OR tours. Attendees donned their white protective “bunny suits”, bonnets and booties, and went through a list of “what to know before you go” details before entering the OR with OR team members as their guides.

Once inside, team members explained exactly what they do to prepare for a surgery and the importance of keeping everything sterile. Dr. Craig McCoy, Uro/GYN, gave a demonstration on MRMC’s robot and showed attendees how the robot makes him a better surgeon. In another suite, Urologist Dr. Joshua Holyoak’s team demonstrated how they remove stones using the cysto-table which gives them live X-ray of where the stones are located.

“We had the best time planning this event,” said MRMC Director of Professional Outreach, Jaime Morgans, “and watching people come back from the OR tour grinning from ear-to-ear and shaking their heads in awe at what we’re able to do right here in Moberly is worth every second of planning.”

MRMC is a 100-bed full-service accredited hospital offering citizens of Moberly and surrounding areas quality healthcare in a rural environment, close to home. Moberly Regional Medical Center employs over 300 medical professionals and has an active medical staff of over 40 physicians offering specialty and sub-specialty care. MRMC has been recognized by the Joint Commission as a Top Performer in Key Quality Measures including heart attack, pneumonia, surgical care and immunizations.

Back