By Staff Reports
Snellville — Patients seeking surgical treatment for severe obesity and its related conditions have a high-quality choice for receiving treatment at a nationally accredited program that meets the highest standards for patient safety and quality of care in the greater Atlanta area.
Aliu Sanni, MD, fellowship trained bariatric surgeon and metabolic and bariatric surgery medical director at Eastside Center for Surgical Weight Loss, recently announced its bariatric surgical center has been accredited as a Low Acuity Center under the Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Accreditation and Quality Improvement Program (MBSAQIP), a joint program of the American College of Surgeons (ACS) and the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS).
The MBSAQIP Standards, outlined in the Resources for Optimal Care of the Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Patient 2014 ensure that bariatric surgical patients receive a multidisciplinary program, not just a surgical procedure, which improves patient outcomes and long-term success. The accredited center offers preoperative and postoperative care designed specifically for their severely obese patients.
“Our team offers the highest quality of patient care and support to help our patients achieve their weight loss goal to reverse or significantly reduce medical diseases that are consequences of their excess weight,” said Dr. Sanni.
Eastside Center for Surgical Weight Loss’ commitment to quality care begins with appropriately trained staff and the leadership surgeons who participate in meetings throughout the year to review its outcomes. They seek continuous improvement to enhance the structure, process and outcomes of the center.
To earn the MBSAQIP designation, Eastside Center for Surgical Weight Loss met essential criteria for staffing, training and facility infrastructure and protocols for care, ensuring its ability to support patients with severe obesity. The center also participates in a national data registry that yields semiannual reports on the quality of its processes and outcomes, identifying opportunities for continuous quality improvement. The standards are specified in the MBSAQIP Resources for Optimal Care of the Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Patient 2014, published by the ACS and ASMBS.
“The Eastside Medical Center bariatric team began its journey towards accreditation in March of 2013,” said Trent Lind, CEO of Eastside. “Through diligent quality and process improvement and implementation were able to meet the standards set forth by MBSQUIP to provide a comprehensive weight loss program to include surgical intervention with the highest quality designation for our community of patients.”
After submitting an application, centers seeking MBSAQIP Accreditation undergo an extensive site visit by an experienced bariatric surgeon, who reviews the center’s structure, process and clinical outcomes data. Centers are awarded a specific designation depending on how many patients it serves annually, the type of procedures it provides, and whether it provides care for patients under age 18.
In the United States, around 15.5 million people suffer from severe obesity, according to the National Institutes of Health, and the numbers continue to increase. Obesity increases the risks of morbidity and mortality because of the diseases and conditions that are commonly associated with it, such as type II diabetes, hypertension, and cardiovascular disease, among other health risks. Metabolic and bariatric surgical procedures have proven to be effective in the reduction of comorbid conditions related to severe obesity.* Working with ASMBS, the ACS expanded this quality program for bariatric surgery centers so that it can assist bariatric patients in identifying those centers that provide optimal surgical care.
Learn more about weight loss surgery at Eastside Medical Center or register for a free educational seminar at EastsideMedical.com or call MedLine® at 800-242-5662.
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*Buchwald H, Avidor Y, Braunwald E, et al. Bariatric Surgery: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. JAMA. 2004;292(14):1724-1737. DOI:10.1001/jama.292.14.1724.
Eastside Medical Center is a 310-bed, multi-campus medical center serving patients in Gwinnett and surrounding counties for more than 35 years. The South Campus for Behavioral Health and Inpatient Rehabilitation is located at 2160 Fountain Drive in Snellville; the Loganville Digital Imaging Center is located at 3445 Georgia 81 in Loganville; and the Breast Imaging & Diagnostic Center is located at 1700 Tree Lane in Snellville. For more information, visit EastsideMedical.com.
