KEEPING PRIORITIES STRAIGHT

Fargo’s New Outpatient Surgery Center, a Special Place for Doctors and Patients

Words by Melissa Davidson | Photography by Jill Ockhardt Blaufuss

Doctors have an innate passion, not only for physiology, but also for helping people get better. To do that, they need the right instruments and a dedicated staff, but they also need a place to perform their craft and for patients to heal, which for many private practices can be a challenge.

Located on South University Drive, the Center for Special Surgery is that place. Fargo’s newest ambulatory surgery center (ASC), or outpatient surgery center, gives its six owner doctors, including Dr. Lesley Soine, a place to perform a wide range of procedures, such as scopes and tonsillectomies. Dr. Soine is the center’s ear, nose and throat specialist who, like her colleagues, has her own practice in the community at Plains Ear, Nose, Throat and Facial Plastic Surgery.

The doctors are all part of Heartland Healthcare Network, an independent network of physicians providing medical care to families in the area. It’s also how they connected. The doctors’ specialties include anesthesiology and pain management, eye and laser, including retina surgery, as well as orthopedics.

Dr. Soine has known the other doctors for more than 10 years, and while they all focus on different fields, they all once faced the same challenges when it came to surgeries. The physicians had their own facilities for clinical visits, but for surgical procedures, they had to reserve the time and space at the larger hospitals in the community.

“It can be challenging when everyone is competing for what we call block time, or designated days and time blocks for surgeries. The facility’s doctors get priority and rightfully so,” Dr. Soine said.

Not only did it create inefficiencies with scheduling, but it also inconvenienced patients. “We decided we needed a place where we were a priority and our patients could get the high-quality, attentive care they’re used to in our private practice settings.”

The facility opened in September 2015 after an eight-month renovation that included remodeling eight patient rooms and adding three specialized operating rooms. The 10,000-square-foot space not only gives its owners a place to perform outpatient surgeries, but it’s also available for use by other local independent doctors.

“We really want to become a positive force for healthcare in Fargo and this center is a big part of that,” said Dr. Soine. “I really look forward to making a substantial impact on our community.”

While the doctors still need to perform some surgeries at the local hospitals, having their own facility for the majority of their procedures has streamlined their practices, and patients have noticed.

Since the Center for Special Surgery opened, the facility has seen more than 300 patients, part of that success, Dr. Soine attributes to the nursing staff.

“I’ve always believed that no matter where you go for care, the nurses are the faces of the clinic or hospital,” Dr. Soine said. “Patients can be at their most vulnerable moments when they are with us, which is why it’s critical to have staff that are caring and passionate about helping others as well as highly experienced.”

From scheduling the appointments on the phone to walking them out the door after recovery, the nurses at the Center for Special Surgery are with patients every step, making them the lifeblood of the facility. “They are highly dedicated and I really couldn’t ask for a better team,” Dr. Soine said.

She also shares that same passion. “I’ve always loved physiology and had an engrained desire to help people. We doctors are people pleasers,” Dr. Soine said.

While her dedication to helping patients brings with it some hectic days, from clinical visits and surgeries to being on call, her main focus in life remains her family. From gymnastics to swimming, her two daughters, 10 and 15, keep her and her husband busy, but they balance it well and her husband is a big part of that.

“He is a carpenter and fortunately we have the flexibility for him to be at home with the kids.” As summer rolls around they get a little respite from the hectic days, spending time on Pelican Lake and enjoying the company of family and friends.

From personal to professional, being a doctor has a way of putting things into perspective.

Spending time with family, having a dedicated place to perform procedures and giving patients high-quality care―all priorities that make Dr. Soine, her colleagues and the Center for Special Surgery just that, special. [AWM]