WILLINGBORO, N.J. -- Lourdes Medical Center of Burlington County has opened the Lourdes Center for Surgery, a new intermediate-care unit providing specialized care for surgical patients.

The center features 18 private rooms, a 4‑to-1 nurse-to-patient ratio, and enhancements focused on the comfort of general surgery, urology, bariatric, spine and orthopedic patients and their families. All unit nurses are certified in advanced cardiac life support and trained in treating bariatric patients.

"By aggregating all our surgical patients on one unit, we are better able to provide them with the care they require," said Eugene Johnson, chief executive officer of Lourdes Medical Center of Burlington County. "The unit staff's ability to focus on each person's unique needs will result in a better patient experience."

"I am extremely proud of what the hospital has done to improve patient care and satisfaction with this new unit," said David Greenbaum, M.D., medical director of the hospital's bariatric surgery program. "The rooms are large and very comfortable, and nursing care on the floor reminds me of what it was like 25 years ago. The unit nurse is readily available during patient rounds, and the transfer of orders is not only written but also discussed with the nurse at that time, making patient care excellent."

"A key component of post-surgical recovery is sleep," explained Johnson. "To that end, the unit has a one-hour ‘quiet time' late each afternoon. During this period, no tests are performed, and both lights and voices are lowered."

Patients on the unit have access to the hospital's pain management specialists, as well as to a nationally recognized program, "Prepare for Surgery, Heal Faster," which can help many patients deal with the surgical process with less anxiety, recover more quickly and decrease their use of pain medication.

Lourdes Medical Center of Burlington County, a 249-bed community hospital in Willingboro, New Jersey, is an affiliate of Lourdes Health System. Specialty services include the Lourdes Cancer Center; a bariatric program, which is certified as a Center of Excellence by the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery and the Surgical Review Corporation; urology; orthopedics; maternity; wound care and hyperbaric medicine; sleep diagnostics; behavioral health; and Lourdes Specialty Hospital of Southern New Jersey for long-term acute-care patients.

Lourdes Health System is sponsored by the Franciscan Sisters of Allegany, N.Y., and is a member of Catholic Health East, a health system with 34 hospitals on the East Coast.