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Located at 120 East 56th Street, Home of Science & Beauty has a private AAAASF Accredited facility that features a state-of-the-art, fully-equipped operating room in a convenient location and comfortable setting. Our facility also offers a minor procedure room for less invasive procedures.

Our AAAASF accredited facility meets the strictest standards set forth for patient safety and care. The surgery center offers a warm, intimate setting for our patients’ surgical experience without the inconvenience and expense of a hospital. Designed specifically for cosmetic surgery, we focus on providing our patients with an upscale and comfortable experience from the light background music that plays throughout the rooms to the high-end modern design of the facility. We also boast a private pre-operative interview room and a comfortable post-op area for your patients to recover following their procedure.

The surgery center at Home of Science & Beauty is fully accredited by the American Association for Accreditation of Ambulatory Surgery Facilities.

What is the AAAASF?

The American Association for Accreditation of Ambulatory Surgery Facilities, Inc. (AAAASF) was established in 1980. Its primary mission is to ensure the highest quality patient care in the ambulatory surgery setting.

Today, with more than 1000 accredited outpatient surgical facilities, the not-for-profit AAAASF is the largest accrediting organization of its kind in the nation.

Dr. Halaas treating patient
surgical table
Dr. Halaas with patient
surgical room

Setting the Standard for Quality Patient Care

AAAASF has created an accrediting program that helps assure patients of the safety and quality in all aspects of their outpatient surgery experience. Every AAAASF-accredited ambulatory surgery facility is held to stringent national standards for equipment, operating room safety, personnel, and surgeon and staff credentials. Maintaining safety and quality in the ambulatory surgery facility is an intricate process, which requires constant review and revision of standards to reflect the most current state-of-the-art. AAAASF is the leading accrediting organization and has created detailed systems to effectively monitor, implement and execute the latest advances in outpatient care to the benefit of our patients.

Quality

AAAASF accreditation has been recognized as the gold standard. The vast majority of ambulatory surgery facilities are not accredited, operating independently of any peer review and inspection process. A growing number of states throughout the country, however, are recognizing the need for mandatory accreditation.

AAAASF is at the forefront of legislative efforts to provide patients with safety and quality assurance in the outpatient surgery setting.

California was the first state to mandate accreditation for all outpatient facilities that administer sedation or general anesthesia in 1996. AAAASF was instrumental in the development of the California legislation (AB595), as well as subsequent laws and regulations adopted by states such as Florida, Georgia, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Texas. AAAASF has been approved to inspect facilities for certification by Medicare. AAAASF accreditation guidelines have been recognized as the gold standard for providing the highest level of safety and quality in ambulatory surgery care.

Safety

AAAASF-accredited facilities must meet stringent requirements as follow:

  • Comply with applicable local, state, and federal regulations including fire safety, sanitation, and building codes for the protection of patients and medical personnel;
  • Adhere to federal laws and regulations affecting their operation such as OSHA blood-borne pathogens standards, hazardous waste standards, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and HIPAA;
  • Utilize advanced instruments and monitoring devices for patient safety during surgery and in the recovery period;
  • Surgery is to be performed only by qualified surgeons who have privileges to perform the same surgical procedures in an accredited hospital. Surgeons must meet the standards, such as peer-review and continuing medical education, required for operating in an accredited hospital. Surgeons must be certified (or eligible for certification) in surgical specialties recognized by the American Board of Medical Specialties. This is an important distinction between AAAASF and other organizations that may not require this high standard of qualifications for physicians operating within their accredited facilities; and
  • Provide for the administration of general anesthesia, when appropriate, by a board-certified or board-eligible anesthesiologist or a certified registered nurse anesthetist. Other personnel assisting in surgery and providing care for the patient in the recovery room include specially-trained and certified surgical technicians, registered nurses, and licensed practical nurses.
Surgery: Local VS.General Anesthesia

Surgery: Local VS.General Anesthesia

Written by Dr. Halaas

COVID-19 Safety Measures

We understand that there may be times when you miss an appointment due to emergencies or obligations for work and family.

However, due to Covid 19. and the current CDC guidelines, we are implementing a new ” no exceptions” cancellation/no show/rescheduling policy effective September 1, 2020.

If any appointment is cancelled or RESCHEDULED less than 24 hours in advance you will be charged a fee of $100. This policy will be in place until further notice and applies to new AND existing clients We apologize for any inconvenience but look forward to getting through this difficult time together.

At Dr. Halaas office, we take our staff’s and patients’ health very seriously. We are implementing safety measures to ensure everyone who comes through our doors will experience the highest level of care and the lowest risk levels.

Safety of our Employees

Each day we are taking our employees temperatures and going over a questionnaire to make sure we are all in the best of health. If anyone has a temperature over 100.4, or has fever, sore throat, chills, loss of taste, cough, shortness of breath, muscle pains, or headache, they will be asked to leave and go see their primary care doctor, or go get tested.

If an employee has been in contact with someone with Covid, we will ask them to get themselves tested, or they will have to quarantine themselves for two weeks.

We have installed a sneeze guard at our front counter for the safety of both our employees and our patients.

Safety of our Patients

Patients must sign up for our patient portal before coming to their appointment

  • Information to get into the portal will be emailed immediately after making an appointment
  • Information to be completed will be medical history as well as a Covid questionnaire
  • Covid questionnaire must be completed for EVERY visit patient makes until further notice
  • We also have a patient app, MyPatientVisit, that we can communicate with the patient when we are ready to see them

All patients must wear masks to their appointment.

We ask patients to come to their appointment alone. Minors may be accompanied by an adult.

Temperature will be taken at the door.

  • If they have a temperature over 100.4 they will be rescheduled and asked to go see their primary care doctor

Once patient has been cleared, we will escort them to their suite where they will be treated.
We have removed water and snacks from our waiting area, as well as all pamphlets regarding services.

Each room will be thoroughly disinfected in between patients
We encourage telehealth consults beforehand, so we can make a plan for when patients do come into office.

Written by Dr. Halaas

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