Home » Saint Joseph East achieves national bariatric surgery accreditation

Saint Joseph East achieves national bariatric surgery accreditation

15.5 million people in the U.S. suffer from severe obesity

LEXINGTON, Ky. (May 11, 2015) — Saint Joseph East, part of KentuckyOne Health, 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).

st, joesThis national accreditation recognizes the bariatric surgery program at Saint Joseph East for meeting the highest standards for patient safety and quality of care. The Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Accreditation and Quality Improvement Program (MBSAQIP) ensures 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.

To earn the MBSAQIP accrediation, Saint Joseph East 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.

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 U.S., around 15.5 million people suffer from severe obesity, according to the National Institutes of Health, and the numbers continue to increase.