News
Beebe Medical Center Designated Bariatric Surgery Center of Excellence
12/10/10
The American Society of Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery and the Surgical Review Corporation have designated Beebe Medical Center as a Bariatric Surgery Center of Excellence.
This designation means that Beebe Medical Center offers a sophisticated, weight-loss program that includes surgical options and that meets the highest standards of quality and safety as set down by the American Society of Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery. It represents Beebe Medical Center's commitment to battling obesity and the diseases that are associated with it including heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, osteoarthritis, and sleep apnea.
We are proud to announce this Center of Excellence designation, says Jeffrey M. Fried, President and CEO of Beebe Medical Center. Obesity has become a serious health risk in our nation today and one that leads to numerous chronic diseases. We at Beebe Medical Center are committed to improving the community's health and preventing disease, and we believe that this program offers us one more opportunity to accomplish that goal.
Michael Sofronski, MD, FACS, heads up the program as Medical Director. He and Daniel McCullough, MD, FACS, joined forces with Beebe Medical Center creating a multi-disciplinary team of physicians and clinical staff to develop the program. Together, they have performed more than 1,700 bariatric procedures. Registered nurse, Patty Houston, RN, MPH, M.Ed., is the program coordinator. Now the program is supported by clinical specialists and patient care professionals throughout the hospital.
The goal is to help people lose weight, maintain their weight loss, and improve their health. The two surgical procedures offered are: adjustable gastric banding and gastric bypass. Both procedures are done laparoscopically. Gastric banding patients go home the same day of surgery. Gastric bypass patients require a brief hospital stay.
The program requires patients to practice a healthy lifestyle. Patients participate in a nutrition education program and work with a personal trainer at the gym to help them individualize their exercise goals. Support groups are offered twice a month at the Beebe Health Campus. Long-term, follow-up with the surgeon and supportive staff members is designed to help patients maintain their weight loss throughout their lifetime.
This a wonderful program for patients to assist with weight loss efforts when traditional diet and exercise programs alone have been unsuccessful, says Patty Houston, who is not just the program coordinator, but is also a gastric band patient.
For more information on the Beebe Medical Center Bariatric Surgical Program, please call Patty Houston at (302) 645-3100 x5410
Beebe Medical Center is a not-for-profit community medical center with a charitable mission to encourage healthy living, prevent illness, and restore optimal health with the people residing, working, or visiting in the communities we serve. For more information, please visit us online at www.beebemed.org
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