DENVER, CO, UNITED STATES, February 12, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — Artificial Intelligence is rewriting the rules of OR efficiency. No longer a future aspiration in healthcare, it’s an operating room (OR) reality. At AdventHealth Celebration in Florida, AI-enabled computer vision is helping redefine surgical efficiency, boosting accountability, and transforming how OR teams work together.
Nicholas DeStefano, BSN, RN, CNOR, Senior Nurse Manager for the OR at AdventHealth Celebration, is leading this charge by integrating AI into surgical workflows. Since installing AI-powered video cameras in June 2024, the hospital has made measurable progress in OR performance, without compromising staff trust or comfort.
The AI system functions as a real-time analytics engine, capturing key operational timestamps — such as “wheels in to incision” — and identifying inefficiencies in room readiness, traffic patterns, and workflow execution. By replacing anecdotal observations with time-stamped data, the OR team has reshaped its approach to surgical efficiency.
3 Key Areas of Impact
Ahead of his upcoming presentation at the AORN Global Surgical Conference & Expo (April 11–14 in New Orleans), DeStefano outlined three specific ways AI is improving OR operations:
Predictive Readiness Monitoring: By analyzing patterns in room activity, such as staff and surgeon entry/exit, teams have optimized staffing schedules, streamlined break protocols, and reduced workflow bottlenecks.
Enhanced Documentation Accuracy: AI flagged inconsistencies in electronic health records, leading to new tools that improve preprocedural readiness and pre-op auditing. The system also tracks turnover delays by time of day.
Improved Real-Time Accountability: Objective data has empowered the OR team to have more constructive conversations about delay sources, turning assumptions into actionable insights.
These changes have delivered real outcomes: On-time first case starts jumped from 61.87% to 78% — the highest rate in three years — and turnover times were cut in half for key service lines, including neurosurgery.
DeStefano credits the success not just to technology, but to a people-first approach. He led with transparency and empathy, coordinating open forums, openly sharing the goals of using AI tools, and making it clear that OR video recordings would never be used to punish mistakes.
When guiding teams through AI adoption, DeStefano says it is critical to lead with empathy, not enforcement.
About AORN
The Association of periOperative Registered Nurses (AORN) represents the interests of more than 200,000 perioperative nurses by providing evidence-based resources, continuing education, and advocacy to advance surgical care. AORN is committed to empowering nurses to transform patient experiences before, during, and after surgery.
Christian Czerwinsk
AORN
+1 315-335-2281
email us here
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