Emory Johns Creek Hospital's bariatric surgery center has been reaccredited by the American College of Surgeons (ACS) Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Accreditation and Quality Improvement Program (MBSAQIP) as a comprehensive bariatric center. This is the second accreditation received by the MBSAQIP, with prior accreditation since 2007.
A MBSAQIP accreditation acknowledges a center's commitment to providing and supporting quality improvement and patient safety efforts for metabolic and bariatric surgery patients. It also signals the efforts made to provide multidisciplinary, high-quality and patient-centered care. Bariatric centers must apply for reaccreditation every three years.
Emory Johns Creek Hospital's bariatric team is made up of experts in the field of weight loss surgery, having performed more than 4,700 successful laparoscopic procedures since it opened in 2007, with complication rates well below the national average. In 2014 alone, the center's four physicians performed more than 475 weight loss procedures, which included a combination of Roux-en-Y gastric bypass, sleeve gastrectomy and laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding.
"This reaccreditation shows our team's commitment and dedication to our patients and their families, from deciding the most appropriate weight-loss plan for our patients — whether surgical or non-surgical, to exercise instruction and nutrition counseling, to support groups and continuous education afterwards," says Christopher Hart, MD, medical director of Atlanta Bariatric Center. "Our multidisciplinary, comprehensive program offers many options for those who suffer from obesity."
Emory Johns Creek Hospital's dedicated bariatric inpatient floor offers specialized medical equipment, including lifts, custom beds and special furniture to meet the needs of the patients on the unit. The hospital also provides comfortable bathrobes and suitable gowns for patients.
In the U.S, more than 11 million people suffer from severe obesity and an estimated 93 million people are obese, according to the American College of Surgeons. Illnesses associated with obesity range from diabetes and heart disease to certain types of cancers. Bariatric surgical procedures have been shown to reduce obesity, improve mortality and decrease the health risks from chronic diseases such as cardiomyopathy and diabetes.
A second bariatric center, located at Emory University Hospital Midtown, is also accredited by the MBSAQIP. The Emory Bariatric Center at Emory University Hospital Midtown has been accredited since 2007, and is scheduled for another survey for reaccreditation in the fall of 2016.