Local News
Outpatient surgery center opens
Patients have new option for treatment
A new alternative for outpatient surgery is available to Johnson County residents.
The Cleburne Surgical Center, located at the intersection of U.S. 67 and Farm-to-Market Road 4, opened its doors Sept. 17 to serve patients who will undergo same-day surgery.
“It is very exciting and very rewarding getting to this day,” said James McGehee, administrator and director of the Cleburne Surgical Center.
The 8,000-square-foot facility boasts two operating rooms, a procedure room, four preoperative bays, six postoperative bays, a family conference room and a large waiting room equipped with satellite television. The operating and procedure rooms are named the Brazos, Guadalupe and Rio Grande, after Texas rivers.
Dr. Blaine Farless, an orthopedic surgeon and board member of the Cleburne Surgical Center, developed the vision for the surgery center more than three years ago. In May 2006, seven local physicians partnered with Meridian Surgical Partners and Candor Surgical Development to make the center a reality.
“Opening the doors at Cleburne Surgical Center is the result of a great partnership and months of hard work and planning,” Farless said.
Cleburne has grown to the point where physicians and patients need additional medical options, he said.
The center will provide outpatient surgical procedures in gastroenterology, general surgery, gynecology, orthopedic surgery, ophthalmology, pain management and urology.
“We are anticipating growing into all specialties with time,” Farless said.
Serving physicians
Doctors do not have to be a partner of the Cleburne Surgical Center to use the facility, McGehee said.
“We’re here for the physicians, and we can be flexible with their hours,” he said. “Doctors are our biggest customer initially, and patients are our No. 1 concern.”
McGehee said patient service is the center’s priority.
“We want patients not to be happy they chose us but ecstatic they chose us for their care,” he said.
Choosing a staff who worked well together was very important to McGehee.
“I have an awesome staff,” he said. “We have the right mix of people and personalities on staff.”
People are amazed at how friendly the staff is amongst one another, licensed vocational nurse Shela Murphy said.
“Our staff’s focus is on the patients’ surgery,” said Cathy Kowalski, executive vice president and chief operating officer of Meridian Surgical Partners. “We want to be No. 1 in customer satisfaction and in customer service.”
To better serve patients, Farless and his partner Dr. Brad Harman, an orthopedic surgeon, will move their practice from the Plaza Medical Center, located next to Harris Methodist Walls Regional Hospital, to the 26,000-square-foot Cleburne Health and Wellness Center that houses Cleburne Surgical Center in October.
Extending medical care
A branch of Cleburne Physical Therapy will also be located in the Cleburne Health and Wellness Center.
“Having a specialized set of services in one place will be very beneficial to the patients,” Harman said. “And having an office next door to the center will allow us to take care of patients more efficiently. We will be able to schedule surgeries quickly to accommodate our patients.”
The number of surgeries exceeds the capacity of the operating rooms at Walls, so the new center will better serve a growing population, he said.
McGehee said the surgery center is another option for people who plan to undergo outpatient surgery.
“People can still use the hospital if they want,” he said. “All of our physicians will still conduct surgery at the hospital.”
A benefit of having surgery at the Cleburne Surgical Center is that surgery is usually conducted at the scheduled time, Murphy said.
“Patients don’t have to worry about a massive car wreck happening and their surgery being bumped,” she said.
People can expect a high quality of service by an experienced staff, Kowalski said.
“The completion of Cleburne Surgical Center is a huge milestone for Meridian as well as for the city of Cleburne,” she said. “We are very excited about this partnership and the opportunity to serve Cleburne physicians and patients by providing a reliable alternative for outpatient surgery.”
- Cleburne
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- Johnson County
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Police arrest suspected cemetery vandals
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Friday night sights
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- Venus
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Rusty Redden, a former offender, leads the men and their family members in bible study during a No Turning Back support group meeting Tuesday at Venus United Methodist Church.
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No turning back
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No turning back
