We asked our surgical services manager at the Frisco campus Patty Crabb, B.N., B.S., R.N., ACLS, to tell us all about how the services and the facility make it an ambulatory surgery center just right for kids.

Most importantly Crabb says, “We take care of kids as if they were our own.”  

What makes the surgical experience at Scottish Rite for Children unique? Our ambulatory surgery center in Frisco serves our pediatric and adolescent sports medicine, orthopedic and fracture patients in North Texas. Because our services are all focused around treating kids’ muscles, joints and bones, our staff and our facility is too. In fact, the surgery center was designed with help from our pediatric surgery team with our young patients and families in mind.

What is an ambulatory surgery center?  It’s an outpatient setting for surgeries that do not require an overnight stay for recovery. This is best for patients and families to transition to the comfort of their own home as soon as it is medically safe to do so.

What special training does your staff have? All Scottish Rite for Children surgeons are fellowship trained in pediatric orthopedics and many also completed a fellowship in another specialty area. Our surgery staff have many years of experience in pediatric surgery, many with years of experience with our pediatric orthopedic surgeons.

What services do you offer families that come to the ambulatory surgery center? We have a few things that make surgery in a pediatric setting a lot more comfortable for patients and their family.

• Child Life specialists are staff members with special training to work with children in health care settings. They are available in clinic to help the child understand the procedure and prepare for surgery day. In some cases, they may provide a tour of the surgery center to help a child feel more at ease.
• Pediatric anesthesiologists at Scottish Rite for Children have focused their clinical and academic attention to caring for children. This means that their procedure and pain management planning and bedside conversations before and after surgery are all child-focused.
• Comfortable waiting areas including the Ronald McDonald room that is hosted by a volunteer to attend to family needs.
• Family Services are available to help families navigate the challenges of having a child going through surgery. For some, this may be help with arranging a stay at a nearby hotel or completing an application for our financial assistance program called Crayon Care.

Check out this tour of our ambulatory surgery center led by pediatric orthopedic surgeon Henry B. Ellis, M.D.