St. Francis Weight Loss Center receives renewed bariatric surgery accreditation

INDIANAPOLIS – Franciscan St. Francis Health has been re-accredited as a Bariatric Surgery Center of Excellence® by the American Society for Metabolic & Bariatric Surgery.

The Center of Excellence designation recognizes surgical programs with a demonstrated track record of favorable outcomes in bariatric surgery.

“This national accreditation reaffirms the safety, support, quality care and positive outcomes for our patients,” said Jonathan Mandelbaum, M.D., surgical co-director at the St. Francis Weight Loss Center, where more than 1,100 surgical procedures have taken place since its opening in 2002.

The St. Francis Weight Loss Center was first accredited for bariatric surgery in 2007. The center offers comprehensive and compassionate care for individuals who are seeking surgical or physician-monitored solutions for weight control. The program provides a full range of bariatric care services to support patients throughout the entire process, including a thorough preoperative evaluation, free patient support groups, pre- and post-operative counseling, dietary counseling and a long-term follow-up plan to help patients commit to the lifestyle changes needed to achieve and maintain successful results.

The program at Franciscan St. Francis Health provides laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass, gastric sleeve and gastric banding procedures to treat obesity by limiting the capacity for food intake.

To earn the designation, the St. Francis Weight Loss Center and Franciscan St. Francis Health underwent a rigorous process during which all aspects of the program’s surgical processes were closely examined and data on health outcomes was collected.

Faced with clinical evidence that the most experienced and best-run bariatric surgery programs have by far the lowest rates of complications, 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.

“Bariatric surgery is a last resort for morbidly obese patients, not a quick fix, and is effective when paired with such life-style changes as diet and exercise,” noted Steven M. Clark, M.D., surgical co-director, adding, “Surgery is just one component of the program. We also provide psychological evaluations, nutritional counseling, support groups and follow-up care that helps patients maintain a healthy lifestyle after surgery.”

Obesity has become a chronic national health issue, with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reporting that 64 percent of all U.S. adults are overweight or obese. Morbid obesity is correlated with life-threatening health conditions including heart disease, high blood pressure and diabetes. Bariatric surgery, when performed correctly, can help obese patients manage and often eliminate these conditions.

Recognized as an extremely serious disease affecting quality of life and increasing the risk of death, morbid obesity is characterized by individuals having a Body Mass Index greater than 40 which equates to about 80 pounds overweight for a female and 100 pounds overweight for a male.

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.

To learn more about services at the St. Francis Weight Loss Center go to www.stfrancishospitals.org/weightloss.