Medicine

Hershey retains Bariatric Surgery Center of Excellence designation

Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center announced today that its designation as a Bariatric Surgery Center of Excellence has been renewed by the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS). This national designation recognizes surgical programs with a demonstrated track record of favorable outcomes in bariatric surgery.

The ASMBS 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.

“Our continued status as a Bariatric Surgery Center of Excellence underscores the high level of care that the Penn State Surgical Weight Loss Program has been providing for more than three decades,” said Ann Rogers, director of Penn State Surgical Weight Loss Program.

The Medical Center was first designated a Bariatric Surgery Center of Excellence in 2007 after undergoing 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. As part of the renewal process, which occurs every three years, the ASMBS conducted a follow-up inspection at the Medical Center this past October. The Medical Center and other centers receiving the Bariatric Surgery Center of Excellence designation agree to continue to share information on clinical pathways, protocols and outcomes data.

Surgical Review Corporation (SRC), an organization dedicated to pursuing surgical excellence, formulates and establishes the rigorous standards with which the Medical Center and other 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.

Penn State Hershey Medical Center started its comprehensive surgical weight loss program in 1979. The program offers a multidisciplinary approach, including nutritional counseling, medical evaluation, psychiatric evaluation, and weight loss surgery -- including roux-en-Y gastric bypass and laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding -- for patients with clinically severe obesity. Other procedures offered include laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy and revisional weight-loss surgery. For more information about the Penn State Hershey Surgical Weight Loss Program, visit http://pennstatehershey.org/surgicalweightloss.
 

Last Updated December 16, 2010

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