Four new operating rooms will give Heartland surgeons a clearer look inside their patients.

The new units come as part of a $65 million operating-room overhaul at Heartland Regional Medical Center. Each room features five high-definition monitors and lead-shielded walls for on-the-spot imaging. Two high-definition cameras, one on the wall and another on an overhanging LED light, allow for better video conferencing with medical students or one of Heartland’s partner institutions, the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston or the Mayo Clinic in Phoenix.

Heartland’s other 10 operating rooms, to be renovated in groups by mid 2013, have only two standard-definition monitors and use standard definition for all images.

“It’s the difference between a cathode ray tube (television) and a flat screen,” said Tony Claycomb, a registered nurse and team leader of surgery, during a media tour of the facility.

The new rooms took the place of Caesarean section rooms and locker rooms, which relocated to a different part of the hospital and cost close to $20 million. They’re patient-ready, as of today.

Mr. Claycomb traveled to different facilities around the country to select the technology and new features to bring to St. Joseph. Antimicrobial terrazzo floors replaced hard-to-clean vinyl. The new suites’ equipment also reflects the move to more laparoscopic procedures. Before, surgeons needed a laparoscopic cart, but the newer suites will have all the tools in a platform suspended from the ceiling. The hospital also will add a second hybrid vascular suite to keep up with the demand for the minimally invasive procedures.

The last major update to the operating rooms happened 20 years ago, Mr. Claycomb said.

Jennifer Gordon can be reached at jennifer.gordon@newspressnow.com. Follow her on Twitter: @jjgordon.