Innovation & Excellence Intersect at Renaissance Surgical Arts of Newport Harbor

Even before the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued its new conditions for coverage relating to improved infection control practices in ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs), Bruce Wallace and Anthony Pings knew that infection prevention would be the cornerstone of their latest development project — a world-class multi-specialty ASC that would be destined to set the bar enormously high in terms of innovation, patient care, and surgeon and staff satisfaction.

Wallace, the CEO of Congero Development, architect Ping, the CEO of Anthony C. Pings and Associates, and Kathy Just, vice president of Congero and interior designer on the project were the driving forces behind Renaissance Surgical Arts of Newport Harbor, LLC, designed to be a preeminent medical facility led by notable surgical specialists working with cutting-edge operating room technologies within an innovation-rich, patient-focused, healing environment.

“This facility was truly designed around exceptional patient outcomes,” Wallace says, “and much of that has to do with integration of some newer equipment and emerging technologies that were not readily available before in the U.S. It also more fully addresses the needs of healthcare providers, as we have identified the challenges that their lifestyles incur and we have provided solutions for them.” In addition, Congero desired to bring a center of excellence to Orange County, California, as well as a project that was scalable to emerging technologies as they became available, with minimum invasiveness to the operations overall.

This 360-degree approach starts with the patient. “I conduct a lot of direct research with patients and physicians to determine what makes them happy,” Pings says. “We don’t ask patients what they want; instead, we ask them to describe their experiences and that’s when they are going to tell you what works and what doesn’t. Nobody wants to have surgery, so when we work on a project like this, we want to provide patients with the physical and emotional support they need.” To that end, Just worked to ensure that Renaissance was designed as a healing environment, with a sophisticated and rich décor that promotes pre-operative calm and facilitates post-operative recovery. To maintain normothermia and ward off post-surgical complications, patients are provided with forced-air heated garments and blankets, as well as IV solution warmers.