Bariatric Weight Loss Center Granted Renewal of Excellence Status

GAINESVILLE, Ga. — Northeast Georgia Medical Center’s (NGMC) Bariatric Weight Loss Center has earned renewal of its designation as a Bariatric Surgery Center of Excellence from the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS).  The ASMBS Center of Excellence designation recognizes surgical programs with a demonstrated track record of favorable outcomes in bariatric surgery.  NGMC first earned the three-year designation in 2006.

According to a study released in July 2007 by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, the number of bariatric surgeries has grown from 16,000 procedures performed in 1992 to 170,000 performed in 2005.  Faced with clinical evidence that the most experienced and best-run bariatric surgery programs have by far the lowest rates of complications, the ASMBS Bariatric Surgery Centers of Excellence program was created to recognize bariatric surgery centers that perform well and to help surgeons and hospitals continue to improve the quality and safety of care provided.

To earn a Center of Excellence designation, NGMC underwent a series of site inspections during which all aspects of the program’s surgical processes were closely examined and data on health outcomes was collected.  NGMC and other centers receiving the Bariatric Surgery Center of Excellence designation agree to continue to share information through an outcomes database to help strengthen and promote best practices in bariatric care.

“The surgeons who perform our bariatric surgery procedures have an outstanding surgery success rate,” says Hannah Shope Day, coordinator of the Bariatric Weight Loss Center at NGMC.  “By achieving this ASMBS Center of Excellence designation, we have validation that our surgeons, our specialized staff and our program provide top quality care.”

Surgical Review Corporation (SRC), an organization dedicated to pursuing surgical excellence, formulates and establishes the rigorous standards with which NGMC and other Bariatric Surgery Centers of Excellence must comply, thoroughly inspects and evaluates each candidate for designation, and upon review, recommends approval of designation for those physicians and facilities whose practices and outcomes meet the stringent demands set forth by SRC for ASMBS.

Obesity has become a significant national health issue, with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reporting that 66 percent of all U.S. adults are overweight or obese.  Morbid obesity is closely correlated with a number of serious conditions that severely undermine the health of overweight patients, including heart disease, high blood pressure and diabetes.

Bariatric surgery can help obese patients manage these conditions.  By definition, surgeons with ASMBS Bariatric Surgery Center of Excellence designations practice only top-quality care, ensuring efficacy of the procedure with each patient to the best of their abilities.

NGMC’s Bariatric Weight Loss Center offers gastric bypass, sleeve gastrectomy and banding surgery for patients with morbid obesity (having a body mass index greater than 40) or those with debilitating co-morbidities.  Before patients undergo surgery, the Center’s staff guides the patients through an extensive application, testing, evaluation and counseling process.  The Center has a dedicated nursing unit located in NGMC’s North Patient Tower that is equipped with specially-designed furnishings and equipment and staffed by specially-trained clinicians.  The Center also offers comprehensive post-operative support services.

In addition, the Center offers an ongoing non-surgical weight loss program, LivingLighter, which consists of eight weeks of classes led by a registered dietitian.  Components of the program include weekly information and support sessions; personal consultations with the dietitian; and individualized goal setting.  Once the program concludes, participants have the opportunity to continue periodic weigh ins for an additional six months to help achieve lasting success.

For more information about any of the services provided by NGMC’s Bariatric Weight Loss Center, call 770-219-0061.

About American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery
The American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS) is the largest society for this specialty in the world.  Founded in 1983, foremost American surgeons have formed the society’s leadership and have established an excellent organization with educational and support programs for surgeons and allied health professionals.  The purpose of the society is to advance the art and science of bariatric surgery by continued encouragement of its members to: pursue investigations in both the clinic and the laboratory; interchange ideas, information and experience pertaining to bariatric surgery; promote guidelines for ethical patient selection and care; develop educational programs for physicians, paramedical persons, and lay people; and promote outcome studies and quality assurance.  For more information about ASMBS, go to ASMBS.org.

About Surgical Review Corporation
Surgical Review Corporation (SRC) is an independent not-for-profit organization governed by industry stakeholders and dedicated to advancing the safety, efficacy and efficiency of bariatric and metabolic surgical care worldwide.  To accelerate best practices development for the treatment of morbid obesity and its associated conditions, SRC launched center of excellence programs for bariatric surgery and developed the Bariatric Outcomes Longitudinal Database (BOLD).  SRC has already designated nearly 650 surgeons as well as more than 350 hospitals and freestanding outpatient facilities, and BOLD is now the world’s largest repository of clinical bariatric surgery patient data.  For more information, visit www.surgicalreview.org.