OptumHealth has named Mercy Health – Springfield Regional Medical Center a bariatric surgery Center of Excellence® (COE). This follows the Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Accreditation and Quality Improvement Program (MBSAQIP) accreditation that the hospital earned last year from the American College of Surgeons and the American Society for Metabolic and the Bariatric Surgery.
Hospitals that earn the Optum Health’s bariatric surgery Center of Excellence designation perform more successful bariatric procedures than many other facilities nearby and patients undergoing the procedures experience fewer complications.
COEs also have:
- 15% lower mortality rate compared to non-COE providers
- 16% lower inpatient hospital readmission rate
- 12% lower reoperation rate for bariatric procedures
- $4,239 lower average cost per surgical episode
“Obesity greatly impacts a person’s quality of life, affecting not just their health, but also household budgets and even relationships. It was important to our weight loss services team to build a program that offers patients viable, high quality solutions to treat obesity,” said Adam Groshans, President, Mercy Health — Springfield. “I congratulate our team on earning this designation and making effective weight management solutions available in Springfield.”
Studies show that obesity affects more than one third of Americans and it the second leading cause of preventable death in the United States. Nearly 40 percent of working-age Americans, ages 40 to 59 classify as obese and conditions associated with obesity, such as diabetes, add to the physical and financial toll of obesity.
Bariatric surgery has proven to be an effective tool in reducing the long-term personal, clinical and economic costs of obesity. Since starting its bariatric surgery program in December 2015, Mercy Health — Springfield Weight Management has performed surgery on 362 patients who have lost 13,114 lbs.
The program offers non-surgical weight management solutions, too. 205 patients have enrolled in the non-surgical program since May 2016 and they have lost 2,532 lbs. Since March 2019, 165 patients have taken part in the medication program, losing 663 lbs.
Fellowship-trained bariatric surgeons Magued Nadim Khouzam, MD and Terry Carman, III, MD, bariatric surgeon nurse practitioner Kaylene Blaylock and dietitian and program coordinator Jacqueline Dahlberg make up Mercy Health — Springfield’s weight management program, which offers surgical and non-surgical weight management solutions.
The team hosts twice monthly information seminars, with the next two taking place at Mercy Health — Springfield Weight Management & General Surgery, 100 W. McCreight Ave., Suite 110, Springfield, Ohio 45504, on Thursday, September 5 at 11:30 a.m. and Wednesday, September 18 at 5:30 p.m. The seminars are free but space is limited. Please reserve your spot by calling 937-523-9940.