Father Rogers Byambaasa, chaplain at OSF St. Joseph Medical Center in Bloomington, blesses a new hybrid operating room on Nov. 23. Assisting is Deacon Gayle Cyrulik. Provided photo/Libby Allison

BLOOMINGTON — Blessing and dedication ceremonies took place Nov. 23 at OSF St. Joseph Medical Center here for a new hybrid operating room and post-anesthesia care unit.

The blessing culminated two years of work on the projects, whose combined construction and equipment costs were $8.9 million.

The capabilities of the hybrid operativing room equipment are explained after the blessing ceremony. Provided photo/Libby Allison

Nearly three dozen staff members — many of them wearing surgical scrubs — looked on as Father Rogers Byambaasa officiated at the blessing ceremony in the large, new operating room, which is twice the size of each of St. Joseph’s five other operating rooms.

It is called a hybrid room because it allows for diagnostic imaging and surgery in the same room, meaning less anesthesia required and lower risk of medical complications in cases where the time element is critical.

Meanwhile, the replacement post-anesthesia care unit is double the size of the previous PACU, affording more patient privacy. It includes a larger surgical family waiting area and administrative offices.