Bay Area Regional Achieves National Accreditation from the Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Accreditation and Quality Improvement Program
Webster, Texas( January 31, 2017)- 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 Houston Bay Area.
Rizwan Chaudhry, M. D., Medical Director of the Metabolic and Weight Loss Institute at Bay Area Regional Medical Center, today announced its bariatric surgical center has been accredited as a Comprehensive 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 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.
“ This accreditation places Bay Area Regional and the multidisciplinary team at an elite status for bariatric surgery and I’ m excited to be a part of a team that focuses on patients individually with their long-term success as the goal,” stated Rizwan Chaudhry, M. D.
Bay Area Regional’ s 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, Bay Area Regional 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.
“ We are proud to be leading the way in bariatric surgery with Dr. Chaudhry as the only fellowship-trained bariatric surgeon in the Houston Bay Area,” said Tim Schmidt, CEO of Bay Area Regional.“ Achieving the national accreditation as a Comprehensive Center for bariatric surgery shows our commitment to providing exceptional care and making a difference in people’ s lives.”
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.
Contact: Abbey Lee alee @ BARMC. us
18 MOMENTUM / February 2017