OKLAHOMA CITY— St. Anthony Hospital will celebrate the opening of the new $30 million, 70,000 square-foot Margaret Vessels Love Surgery Center with a dedication ceremony on Friday, September 1, 2006 at 4 p.m. The surgery center features 15 state-of-the-art operating rooms that range in size from 675 to 900 square feet, making it one of the largest and most advanced such centers in the city.

Named in honor of Margaret Vessels Love, the Love family generously donated $500,000 as a tribute to her memory. A life-long supporter of St. Anthony Hospital, Mrs. Love served the volunteer league for more than 40 years and was also a Foundation Board Member. Each of her seven children was born at St. Anthony and both she and her husband F.C. received their medical care at the Hospital.

The surgery center features Stat-Com, a patient tracking system that is designed to resemble an information board at an airport, Stat-Com is linked throughout the surgery center, so family members can receive real-time communication about patient status. Each patient is assigned a code number to preserve confidentiality.

Each operating room is equipped with XM Radio, brand new cameras and 48-inch flat screen monitors so surgeons can better visualize while performing surgery. With boom mounted equipment, the operating rooms stay clutter free which makes it easier for the physicians and staff to navigate around the room.

Other features of the surgery center include Margaret’s Garden, a tribute to a woman so dedicated to St. Anthony, Margaret Vessels Love. Her tireless work has been honored by creating Margaret’s Garden, a rooftop oasis to complete the new surgery center. The waiting area is equipped with a coffee bar, snack station, XM Radio and a business center, to give visitors all they need to stay comfortable and connected while they wait. With a paging system similar to that of a restaurant, visitors receive a pager that will alert them when the surgeon has pertinent patient information. This allows the patient’s family to come and go freely from the surgery center without worrying that they will miss an important update.

Some of the unique features of the operating rooms include Open Heart Operating Rooms, designed specifically for patients undergoing open heart surgery. With state-of-the-art lights, camera and computer equipment, the surgeon has everything he or she needs to perform one of the most advanced procedures.

The Endovascular Suite is designed to be the ‘operating room of the future’, in that it combines the technology of a minimally invasive cath lab and an open heart operating room in one. Also included in the new surgery center are the Neurosurgery Operating Room, which provides more space for the large amount of equipment needed for these complex cases, and the Urology Operating Rooms, which provide two brand-new GE Cysto-tables, priced at $390,000 each to accommodate the real-time x-rays needed while the urologist is operating.

The Margaret Vessels Love Surgery Center also includes an education center that provides new OR nurses as well as existing surgery staff a place to learn the most advanced and up-to-date policies and procedures.

Founded in 1898, St. Anthony Hospital is a 615-bed tertiary care facility specializing in cardiology, oncology, surgery, and behavioral medicine. For more information, call (405)231-8866 or visit www.saintsok.com.