BAKERSFIELD, Calif. — The Kern Medical Surgery Center held an open house Monday evening for people interested in its new outpatient surgery center.

“It's been a long time planning and preparing for it," said Scott Thygerson with Kern Medical. "It’s a great expansion of our services in our community. The great thing about surgery centers is that people can come and it's more convenient, rather than go to a large institution or a hospital.”

The Center is officially open and has three operating rooms and one procedure room.

"Ear, nose, and throat cases, certain orthopedic cases, whether its knees, elbows, shoulders, hands," said Thygerson. "Cases that are geared toward outpatient cases. Things that are done in an hour or less. Plastic reconstruction cases, podiatry, so there’s a lot of cases here.”

Thygerson says the center has the capacity to handle 8,000 cases a year.

The Center is located on 9300 Stockdale Highway in Suite 200.