At UVA Health University Medical Center, our Perioperative Services team is a force for good — complex, compassionate, and critical to patient care. Spanning hundreds of dedicated professionals working across our Outpatient Surgery sites and the Main Operating Room, their work touches every stage of the surgical journey — from Sterile Processing and Surgical Supply to Pre-Operative, Intraoperative, and Post-Operative care. It is impossible to capture their impact in a single feature. So today, I'll start behind the red line with the surgical team in the Main Operating Room (OR).
Surgery is one of the most fast-paced, high-stakes areas of healthcare. I’ve heard it described as a finely tuned orchestra. Every team member plays a specific role, and when everyone is in sync, they make beautiful music. Whether it’s a planned procedure or a life-saving emergency, the safety and success of each case depends on precise coordination and trust.
Our Main OR team performs nearly 60,000 procedures each year. That is made possible by the dedication of:
- Managers and Service Line Coordinators — Ensure consistency and quality across every shift.
- Registered Nurses — Trained to both scrub and circulate
- Scrub Nurses — Assist the surgeon in a sterile area during surgery by preparing the site, handling instruments, and checking the patient's vital signs and comfort.
- Circulator Nurses — Move in and out of the operating room to bring needed items, keep records, manage communication and supplies, and assist with anything necessary for a successful surgery.
- Surgical Technologists (ST) — Prepare the operating room and sterile area, set up surgical tools and supplies, hand instruments to the surgeon, and oversee the sterile field and specimens.
- Surgical Support Technologists (SST) — Coordinate transport, cleaning, and support tasks to maintain smooth surgical flow.
- Charge Nurses — Provide leadership and guidance over day-to-day operations, ensuring patient care, staffing, and regulatory compliance.
This team partners closely with our anesthesia providers, faculty, residents, and Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNAs), as well as Environmental Services (EVS), Radiology, Pharmacy and many others. Sue Bowers, Director, Main Operating Room, describes her team as smart, bold, and deeply compassionate.
“We become the patient,” she says. “In surgery, you’re never more vulnerable. We can be hardheaded because we must be advocates. I strive to empower my team to be that for the patient.”
The team is also actively growing and has expanded pathways like the Surgical Technologist Earn While You Learn Program.
Speaking of growth, this week’s blog couldn’t come at a more perfect time. The entire Periop team will hit a major milestone next week, as part of the exciting progress being made on the health system’s Periop Roadmap Expansion Plan (PREP). On July 1, the Orthopedic Center at Ivy Road (OCIR) will open two new ORs — doubling capacity and projecting to perform an additional 1,500 cases in the coming fiscal year, which means more patients will be able to receive the extraordinary care UVA Health provides. In fact, we already have 14 cases scheduled at OCIR on July 1 and 2 — doubling our volume! This is part of a larger plan to expand the equivalent of six operating rooms between now and July 2026.
The Main OR team collaborates with a shared goal of providing exceptional care and outcomes for our patients. I am so grateful for this team's commitment, expertise, and mutual trust, which play a crucial role in advancing our mission. I look forward to sharing about more branches of this team in the future!
Are there other teams you want to get to know better? Share your suggestions with me through the Be Heard Suggestion Box.
Take care and be well,
Wendy