Forty years after seven Fremont physicians and Washington Hospital came together around a different way to provide surgery, Washington Outpatient Surgery Center shows how much outpatient care has advanced.
When Michael Olmes underwent hip replacement at Washington Outpatient Surgery Center (WOSC) in December 2024, he was home within hours. About six weeks later, he was back playing pickleball.
His experience is one example of how dramatically outpatient surgery has changed. Today, patients come to Washington Outpatient Surgery Center for care across multiple specialties. One may be there for a colonoscopy. Another for eye surgery. Down the hall, someone may be preparing for an orthopedic, gynecologic or urologic procedure. Many patients return home the same day, while overnight recovery is available for those who need additional observation.
For local residents, that means more surgical and diagnostic care can happen close to home in a facility designed around scheduled procedures, recovery and getting patients back to their lives more quickly.
Forty years ago, that kind of care looked very different.
In 1986, seven Fremont physicians partnered with Washington Hospital to create a same-day outpatient surgery center. Washington Hospital helped turn the plan into a place patients could actually use: it leased the physicians 11,446 square feet on the first floor of a new building at 2299 Mowry Ave., directly across from the hospital.
The center opened with two operating rooms and a procedure room.
Over the next four decades, that simple idea grew into something much bigger.
Built through partnership
That collaboration was built into Washington Outpatient Surgery Center from the start.
The physicians brought forward a new approach to outpatient surgery, while Washington Hospital helped make a dedicated center possible. Over time, that relationship evolved into the hospital-physician partnership that supports the center today.
"WOSC's proven track record illustrates how this synergistic relationship benefits the Tri-City community," said Dr. Russell Nord. "Proudly, our outstanding multispecialty surgical team is a combination of people who have worked here for years – some even decades – in conjunction with a new generation of expert surgeons, nurses and technicians."
More can happen outside the hospital
The center itself reflects how outpatient care has expanded. What began with two operating rooms and a procedure room now includes five operating rooms, dedicated endoscopy space and overnight recovery.
The range of patients has grown along with it. A visit might involve a preventive colonoscopy, treatment for a painful joint, cataract surgery on the eyes, or a procedure for the digestive system or reproductive health. The procedures are different, but the benefit to the community is similar: care that might otherwise require a hospital setting can take place locally in an outpatient environment.
Dr. William Dugoni, a general surgeon and medical director of Washington Health's Women's Center, has watched much of that evolution during his decades of involvement with the center. While the technology and procedures have changed, he points to teamwork as one of the constants.
"A united surgical team means better flow, a smooth patient experience, and outstanding care," Dugoni said.
A community milestone
Washington Outpatient Surgery Center recently marked its 40th anniversary with an open house that welcomed physicians, staff, Washington Health leaders and members of the community.
"This 40th anniversary reflects what the hospital-physician partnership has made possible for our community," said Tina Nunez, Washington Health's senior vice president and chief administrative officer who also serves as president of the Washington Outpatient Surgery Center LLC Board of Directors. "WOSC has evolved along with outpatient surgery, giving local patients more options for receiving care close to home."
For longtime physicians and staff, the open house offered a chance to look back. For community members, it also offered a closer look at a resource many may know only as the building across from Washington Hospital.
Forty years after those first local physicians came together around a different way to provide surgery, the idea has become much bigger than the two operating rooms where it started.
For Tri-City residents, the result is something decidedly practical: more options for receiving surgical and diagnostic care without leaving their community, and for many patients, without spending the night in a hospital.
To learn more about Washington Outpatient Surgery Center, visit www.washosc.com.