St. Elizabeth Healthcare, serving Northern Kentucky and Southeast Indiana, successfully expanded robotic-assisted acute care surgery by creating 24/7 access to da Vinci® procedures across its hospital system. Over two years, the organization completed more than 1,000 acute robotic surgeries by focusing on leadership alignment, standardized workflows, staffing innovation, and operational efficiency. Key initiatives included expanded perioperative nurse fellowships, a university-supported scrub tech pipeline, new patient care assistant roles, overnight robotic surgery staffing, and a dedicated perioperative float pool. The health system also standardized OR setup, scheduling, inventory, and training processes to improve consistency across facilities. Leadership emphasized communication, accountability, and a “can-do” culture that supported change management and improved patient access to advanced surgical care. These efforts helped drive a 41% year-over-year increase in the acute care robotic surgery program from 2023 to 2024.

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