By ROBIN SHANNON

L’Observateur

LAPLACE – Options for surgical care in the River Parishes have recently expanded with the opening South Lake Surgery Center on Belle Terre Boulevard in LaPlace.

Clinic Administrator Jeff Evans, a registered nurse, said the planning behind the facility began in 2008 as a collaboration of a group of physicians who practice in St. John the Baptist Parish and wanted to open an ambulatory care center.

“The idea was to give residents another option when it comes to certain operations,” Evans said. “Our doors opened in July, and we have seen a great deal of satisfaction from patients.”

Evans explained that similar surgical care centers are becoming more popular across the region as the cost of medicine continues to rise. He said ambulatory centers like South Lake are able to provide the same services as a standard hospital at a reduced cost to patient insurance across the board.

The 9,700-square-foot facility features seven pre-operation rooms, three operating rooms, one procedure room and eight recovery bays. Evans said it is the only free-standing ambulatory center in the River Parishes.

“There are 20 board certified surgeons on staff at the facility who specialize in eight different procedures,” Evans said. “We offer orthopedics, gynecology, ophthalmology, gastroenterology, urology, otolaryngology, pain management and general surgery. We rely on physicians being here to attract patients to the clinic. In most cases a patient can’t just walk through the doors and say they want to have surgery done here. Most of the clients have come from previous relationships with doctors.”

Evans said another advantage of ambulatory care is that all procedures are outpatient, meaning that the patient is free to go home the same day.

“It reduces the chance of infection when the patient is in and out,” Evans said.

Evans said the facility, located at 694 Belle Terre Blvd., is open Monday through Friday from 6:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.