At Athens-Clarke County Endoscopy Center in Athens, Georgia, the focus is on teamwork and excellent patient care. Lynn Tobin, endoscopy manager, said the team consists of a receptionist, four endoscopy techs, three endoscopy RNs, one endoscopy LPN, an endoscopy manager, four CRNAs, and four gastroenterologists.
“Our center performs colonoscopies, esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD), esophageal dilations, and Bravo pH Test. We have four pre-op bays, four post-op bays, two procedure rooms, and one scope room,” Tobin said.
Gastroenterologists include Doctors Kelly Grow, Lori Lucas, Erik Person and Bradley Shepherd, all of whom are board-certified. A member of United Digestive, Athens-Clarke was named one of the highest performing ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) in the country by U.S. News & World Report. Factors used to evaluate ASCs included whether patients avoided complications like ER visits and unplanned hospitalizations.
“Everyone works together as a team to ensure that we are providing the best care to our patients,” Tobin said. “We share the same goals, and everyone is required to maintain competency and practice according to the standards of care. Our staff is very versatile, as each staff member is cross-trained in multiple areas of the center.”
They’re a team personally as well as professionally. Tobin described the group as “very close,” detailing how team members check in on each other and celebrate personal events, holidays and milestones. “On one occasion, one of our endoscopy nurses used his personal day off to support the staff by smoking barbecue and bringing it for the team to enjoy a nice lunch,” said Betsy Hefner, endoscopy LPN.
As with all teams, Tobin admitted it hasn’t always been smooth sailing. “We have had some staffing challenges in the past, which brought us all closer as a team because we had to support each other to ensure that we continued to provide excellent care to our patients.” Tobin said communication is key. Team members are welcome to share ideas for improvement, ensuring that the team is able to provide patients the best possible care.
